TR EWS Journal of the Tropical Resources Institute

Yale University School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Fall, 1993 Voll2, No.2

TROPICAL TIMBER CERTIFICATION: PROBLEMS AND POTENTIAL

Theodore G. Wong, MFS Candidate Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Poverty, political instability and mistrust of unfamiliar market. Retailers and environmental organizations see a methods may create barriers to infmmation and technol­ bright future for certified timber goods, and the number ogy. These barriers undermine the effectiveness of even of certification programs is increasing rapidly. The the most innovative solutions to environmental problems. recent founding of the Forest Stewardship Council, an Central to the mission of the Tropical Resources Institute umbrella organization for certifiers, promises to acceler­ is the realization that effective environmental manage­ ate this trend. ment must address the social context of resource con­ sumption. Though the success of timber certification seems promis­ ing, critical questions regarding its implementation On 5-6 February 1993, TRI and the Yale chapter of the remain unanswered. Discussion at the TRI/ISTF Confer­ International Society of Tropical Foresters will host ence will focus on three broad questions: Timber Certification: Implic'ations for Tropical Forest Management, a conference which will examine Feasibility: Is a good certification system technically one of the most exciting recent applications of social and possible and economically feasible? economic tools to promote sound forest management: timber certification. A wood producer who wishes to Critics of certification have noted that some important market goods as environmentally responsible can hire a forest management issues do not lend themselves well to certification organization. A consulting firm or a non­ auditing. For example, how can a certifier accurately governmental organization will audit the management, harvesting, and often, post-harvest processing and accounting procedures. If certain minimum standards are met, the producer's operations and products are then given a label, often more symbolic than literal, certifying sustainability, or at least good management.

Certification standards vary greatly among individual organizations and management contexts, but common basic criteria include adherence to a long-term manage­ i ment plan, minimum-impact harvesting methods, and ,. · . ~~~ource. use by. the le$i~r mcillse lemur 36 efficient utilization of all forest products, including non­ va(tiqt(on ofprotection ina CaribbeancordlreeF 41 timber products. Many certification programs also Role of children· in community development 44 include positive contributions to local community Women's role in Community forestry in Nepal 47 development, as well as respect for traditional use-rights Reproduction biology of the Aracea in Puerto Rico 51 of local people. Socio-economic impacts of agroforestry, Panama 54 Succession in a North Yucatecan forest 58 Increasing consumer demand for goods with minimal environmental impact creates the possibility of a new Book Reviews 61 market for "green" goods: in effect, a market for TRINotes 62 Istainability, or perceived sustainability. Certification ~'brant rovides wood producers access to this new market as an Letters 63 StY2.Y1 1centive for responsible management. In contrast, t'\\c~ responsible timber producers are excluded from the 12'.2 I I (L()e_.l l assess an operator's respect for local rights and tradi­ Effectiveness: Will certification be successful in promot­ tional forest use? Is it possible and economically ing sustainable forest use? feasible to reliably trace final-market goods back to their producers? If not, certification of a producer will hold Even if a practical, equitable large-scale certification little weight and may make certification unprofitable. system becomes established, it may be ineffective in Critics have also argued that the consumer market for promoting sustainability in tropical forestry. Certifica­ more expensive, certified goods does not exist or is too tion addresses issues of forest management, but the root small to make certification an attractive goal of timber causes of deforestation may only be approachable producers--particularly small operators. If consumers through certification of entire countries, or through policy are unwilling to pay its costs, certification is unlikely to entirely unrelated to the consumer market. In addition, succeed. certification only affects international timber trade. In some countries, less than 20% of the timber harvested is Equity: Will certification criteria be created for the targeted for export; certification would then have little ( good of some and the harm of many? impact on domestic harvest. If the real factors driving forest destruction and degradation are not addressed, Certifiers hope to exclude producers who cannot or will certification may become little more than the next in the not meet their standards. For producers with limited long line of green marketing gimmicks. access to capital or standardization processes, critical questions of equity arise: Who creates the certification Despite its uncertain future, certification signals a criteria? And will these criteria be appropriate in the promising trend in environmental policy: economic, social context of developing economies? Will there be political, and social tools are being used to address issues an appeals process for producers denied certification? previously treated as purely ecological. It is hoped that Who will make the final decisions? the conference in February will provide such a framework for the successful implementation of timber certification. Furthermore, certification may represent a unilateral barrier to free trade in many countries. This raises the For more information about the conference, please question of national sovereignty and poses the risk of contact: Jennifer O'Hara/ ISTF, Yale School of Forestry politicization of the certification process. & Environmental Studies/ 205 Prospect Street/ New Haven,CT 0651 I, USA.

34 TRI News Fall 1993 r

FACULTY RESEARCH PROFILE: KRISTIINA VOGT Collaborative Research: Structure and functional roles of coarse woody debris in tropical stream-riparian-upslope forest ecosystems Along with Daniel J. Vogt, Thomas G. Siccama, Whendee Silver (Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies); Sandra Brown (University of Illinois); and Alan P. Covich (Colorado State University)

Compiled by E. Binney Girdler

In September of this year an interdisciplinary team of detrital processing. As part of this objective, a number of scientists led by Kristiina Vogt received a National hypotheses will be tested in lowland Tabonuco forests in Science Foundation grant to support research in the the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico (see inset, Luquillo Experimental Foresf, Puerto Rico, USA. The center.) study will examine how tropical ecosystems respond to major transfers of woody debris to the decomposition To assess site response to treatments, Vogt et al. will process. measure carbon dioxide evolution, soil oxygen levels, net primary production, and nutrient pools and fluxes. Vogt and her colleagues believe that the importance of The total net movement of nutrients in the riparian zone woody debris to nutrient conserva- will be an important, dynamic tion has often been overlooked variable. A measure of net because of the assumption that it nutrient exchange will allow the decays rapidly. The fundamental researchers to evaluate if the hypothesis under consideration is riparian trees and the stream that disturbances such as hurricanes detrital consumers are tightly and landslides, which have coupled. Alan Covich, an occurred every thirty to forty years, aquatic biologist at Colorado can add woody debris to the State University, will monitor landscape and may be responsible populations of shrimp: for spatial patterns of productivity detritivores which serve as and community composition. indicators of stream productiv­ ity. Tropical storms with high winds and intense rains significantly The research at the Luquillo increase the input of tree trunks and Experimental Forest in Puerto branches into stream channels and Rico builds upon earlier work riparian areas. The large debris, in conducted by Kristiina and turn, increases retention of leaf Daniel Vogt, Alan Covich, Fred debris and smaller woody debris. Scatena and Ariel Lugo under Extreme disturbances may also the auspices of the Puerto Rican transport woody debris laterally Long-Term Ecological Re­ from the stream channel to the search Project. This research land-based riparian forest. This has examined the effects of flood-generated deposition of disturbance frequency and organic detritus may allow the magnitude on tropical forest growth of riparian vegetation at great distances from the structure and function. The newly funded Puerto Rican stream bank. Thus a related question will be whether the project is a direct offshoot of the long-term study. impact of woody debris varies depending upon site-­ streams, riparian zones, and upslope areas. Kristiina Vogt's interest in tropical ecosystems extends from the functional roles of ecosystem components to Vogt eta!. will use a manipulative experimental design, issues of forest sustainability and resilience to human removing woody debris from study sites to determine the and natural disturbances. In Malaysian forests, Vogt's specific mechanisms that affect aquatic and terrestrial doctoral student Peter Palmi otto is attempting to identify

TRI News Fall 1993 35 the ecosystem components that produce extremely high species diversity. Her research in the Amazon, managed by doctoral student Miguel Finedo­ Vasquez, is examining the effect of agricultural land use on carbon and nutrient capitals after the clearing of secondary forests (see TRI News 12(1), p.3). Other research in the Amazon is documenting the timber and non-timber forest products that are being used by indigenous people (see TRI News 11 (2),p.16).

The newly funded Puerto Rican project will continue Kristiina Vogt's ecosys­ tem approach to tropical research. The interdisciplinary nature of this project will allow specialists in various aspects of ecosystem ecology to collaborate in the effort to identify system-level Kristiina Vogt examines woody debris in a stream bed in tile Luquillo Forest. processes.

RESOURCE USE BY THE LESSER MOUSE LEMUR (MICROCEBUS MURINUS, LEMURIDAE) A Preliminary Report

Greg D. Corbin, MES Candidate Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

INTRODUCTION

Hladik et al. (1980) speculate that nocturnal lemur species secretions in shaping the ecology of M. murinus has not in the western forests of Madagascar are able to exist in been considered (Martin 1972, 1973; Hladik et al. 1980). sympatry by distinct separations of diet and habitat use patterns. I studied the use of insect secretions produced by the larval stage of Flatida coccinea (Order: Homoptera), as a The lesser mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus) is a small food resource for M. murinus in a western dry deciduous (average weight 60g) nocturnal prosimian (Order: Pri­ forest of Madagascar during July and August of 1993. mates) found in primary and secondary forest throughout This resource may play a key role in the ecology of M. the west and south of Madagascar (Tattersall 1982). murinus during times of resource scarcity because the Microcebus murinus is relatively abundant compared to secretion is produced during the austral winter when other other lemurs (Harcourt and Thornback 1985). However, resources have decreased in abundance. The secretions populations of M. murinus are threatened by habitat are usually found in large patches whose white color is destruction and are probably in decline (Richard et al. easily identified. The ease of identification and static 1985, Harcourt and Thornback 1985). nature of the resource makes this food supply well suited for sampling and manipulation. The objectives of this Microcebus murinus is classified as an omnivore that feeds study were to determine: primarily on insects and fruit but is also known to eat other plant matter and insect secretions (Martin 1972, 1973; 1) if M. murinus used insect secretions as a food Hladik et al. 1980). The use of insect secretions as a major resource; food resource was identified for two nocturnal prosimians 2) the distribution of insect secretions during the austral sympatric with M. murinus: Mirza coquereli (Pages 1980) winter; and and, to a lesser extent, Phaner furcifer (Charles-Do­ 3) whether presence of insect secretions influences minique and Petter 1980). The importance of insect habitat use by M. murinus.

36 TRI News Fall 1993 T

Animal Observations

We trapped Microcebus murinus in Sherman traps baited with banana and set at trail intersections overnight for a total of 400 trapping nights. Captured animals were sexed, measured for morphometric analysis, and then released. Of these animals, one male and one female were radio­ collared prior to release. I followed the collared animals for a minimum of 2 hours per night for 7 nights. Few behavioral observations were recorded because of the difficulty in observing arboreal primates in dense forest. To establish use of a food resource, I offered the resource to captive M. murinus and recorded if it was eaten; however, use of a food in captivity is not conclusive of use in the wild.

Resource Distribution

I sampled resource patches along five transects running 225 meters into the forest from the logging road. At each trail intersection, I recorded size and number of patches in a 25 x 2 meter area parallel to the logging road. Because the line transect technique was biased by following trails, I employed a random sampling technique for verification. 2 Twenty five random plots (2m ) were sampled in three areas for a total of 75 plots, encompassing the entire study Baobabs (Adansonia spp.) line the road to the study site. area.

METHODS Radio-Tracking and Resource Removal

Study Area I tracked the female lemur for seven nights to determine her home range. Once a core area was established, I chose The study site was a four hectare plot in a dry deciduous a 25m2 grid cell from which to remove the insect secre­ forest 60 kilometers northeast of Morondava on the tions. I removed leaves covered with secretions and 10,000 ha forestry concession of the Centre de Formation scraped secretions off all branches without altering the Professionelle Forestiere. I conducted this project in structure of the forest. The animal was radio-tracked again conjunction with a group of German researchers currently for three complete nights. As a control, I repeated the engaged in a long term study of the entire prosimian procedure for an adjacent glid cell, removing the same community at this site. Site elevation is less than 100 volume of leaves without secretions. meters above sea level. The forest is characterized by a closed canopy at 15 meters with baobabs (Adansonia spp.) emergent above the canopy. Lianas are prevalent throughout the area and are sometimes dense. This region of Madagascar receives an average precipitation of 770 mm (Rakotonirina 1985, cited in Ganzhorn et al. 1990). The climate is dry with a humid season from November to April. Average monthly temperatures range from 17.5°C to 35.2°C. The forestry concession is subdivided by logging trails at 100 meter intervals. In one region of the forest, a 500 x 500 meter grid system was cut with foot trails every 25 meters parallel and perpendicular to the logging trails. The western edge is delineated by a large logging road creating a distinct forest edge.

Tile author holding a lesser moftse lemw:

TRI News Fall 1993 37 RESULTS DISCUSSION

Line transect samples of 25 x 2 meters show a distinct Use of insect secretions by two other nocturnal lemurs in a difference between area covered by insect secretions on similar area is well documented (Hladik et al. 1980). the forest edge and in the interior (Fig.l ). Mean leaf area During the austral winter Mirza coquereli relies heavily on covered by secretions at the forest edge averaged over Homopteran secretions although its home range choice 2 2 2400 cm while no other sample exceeded 480 cm • may be correlated with total arthropod abundance instead Results from the random plots confirmed this trend: leaf of specific insect secretions (Pages 1980). The impor­ area cover was higher for the area with forests edge tance of this resource in shaping the behaviour of Mirza 2 2 (=2800 cm ) than in the forest interior (::::700 cm ) or an coquereli, Phaner jurcije1~ and Microcebus murinus is 2 area encompassing both edge and interior (:=800cm ). poorly known. In this study area M. murinus are found predominantly within 25 meters of the forest edge. The Of the four study hectares, two have a sharp forest edge liana (Elachypte~a minimiflora), on which Flatida associated with a logging road, and two are surrounded coccinea feeds (Hladik et al. 1980), is common in this by contiguous forest. Five M. murinus were trapped in area and distribution of secretion patches shows a strong only the north-west corner, an area with an edge. Track­ clumping of the insect resource along the forest edge. ing data indicated that the female spent most of each This suggests that during the austral winter, female M. night in a 25 meter wide strip along the forest edge. I murinus identify their home range based on the distribu­ also observed that M. murinus were often found in areas tion of insect secretions. Although sample size is small, with a high concentration of Homopteran secretions. the strongest support for this relationship comes from the Further evidence of insect secretion use came from shift in home range use following experimental removal of offering secretion covered leaves to captive animals. The the resource. It is only through such experimental work secretions were completely licked off the leaves before that evidence beyond correlations can be established for other food items in the enclosure were eaten. the role of a resource in shaping animal behavior. Often this is an unrealistic approach in the study of primate In the resource removal experiment, the female spent an ecology (Richard 1985). average of 55% of her time in the experimental plot prior to any disturbance of the resource. Following removal of The role of niche separation in defining the relations of the secretions she spent only 18% of her time in the grid sympatric nocturnal prosimians in Africa and Madagascar cell, a difference of 37%. This is compared to 17% and has been emphasized by various authors (reviewed by 21% for the control before and after treatment (Fig. 2). Hladik et al. 1980). The partitioning of available re­ sources by the five nocturnal prosimian species found at

,_..._ 2000 C'le ~ § 1500 ·~ u 0 "-' £ 1000 ~ ~

u~ «< 500 ~ «< ~ .3 0 0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225

Figure 1. Results of line transect samples. Large bars show mean leaf area (em') covered by insect secretions at 25 meter illferva/s along transects. Small bars show upper 95% confidence illfen•al.

38 TRI News Fall 1993 result of habitat stratification and 0.6 -,------~ differing dietary choices. However, the driving force behind niche separa­ tion has yet to be adequately investi­ -8 0.5 gated for most mammals, including "C -~ C=::J Before removal primates (Richard 1985). Microcebus .5 0.4 ~ After removal murinus presents a unique opportunity E 4.) to experimentally test niche separation ~ in primates because of its high density, 4.) 0.3 relative abundance and ease of manipu­ .§ ...... lation compared to other primates 0 c: 0.2 (Harcourt and Thomback 1985). ·€ 0 The results reported here are prelimi­ 0.1 Q..2' nary. However, the strong association between the animals ranging· pattern 0.0 _.______, __ and resource distribution provides Experimental Control compelling evidence that insect secretions are indeed important in shaping the behavior of M. murinus Figure 2. Results of resource removal experiment. Bars show proportion of time spent in experimellfal and collfrol plots three days before and after resource removal. during the austral winter. Niche overlap with Mirza coquereli and Phanerfurcifer and subsequent competitive interactions Hladik, C.M., P. Charles-Dominique, andJ.J. Petter. 1980. may be important in shaping current community structure Feeding strategies of five nocturnal prosimians in the dry of nocturnal prosimians; however, further experimentation is forest of the west coast of Madagascar. Pages 41-47 in P. necessary to fully understand these relations. Charles-Dominique, H.M. Cooper, A. Hladik, C.M. Hladik, E. Pages, G.F. Pariente, A. Petter-Rousseaux, A. Schilling, ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (eds.), Nocturnal Malagasy Primates: Ecology, Physiology and Behavior. Academic Press, New York. This project was funded in part by the Tropical Resources Institute. The author thanks J. Ganzhorn and A. Richard Martin, R.D. 1972. A preliminary field study of the lesser for their encouragment and advice. mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus J.F. Miller 1777). Z. Tierpsychol suppl. 9:43-89. UTERATURE CITED Martin, R.D. 1973. A review of the behaviour and ecology of Charles-Dominique, P. and J.J. Petter. 1980. Ecology and the Lesser Mouse Lemur (Microcebus murinus J.F. Miller social life of Phaner furcifer. Pages 75-96 in: P. Charles­ 1777). Pages 1-68 in: R.P. Michael and J.H. Crook (Eds.), Dominique, H.M. Cooper, A. Hladik, C.M. Hladik, E. Pages, Comparative Ecology and Behaviour of Primates. Academic G.F. Pariente, A. Petter-Rousseaux, A. Schilling, (Eds.), Press, New York. Nocturnal Malagasy Primates: Ecology, Physiology and Behavior. Academic Press, New York. Pages, E. 1980. Ethoecology of Microcebus coquereli during the dty season. Pages 97-116 in: P. Charles-Dominique (ed.), Ganzhom, J.U., A.W. Ganzhorn, J.-P. Abraham, L. Nocturnal Malagasy Primates. Academic Press, New York. Andriamanarivo and A. Rarnananjatovo. 1990. The impact of selective logging on forest structure and tenrec populations in Richard, A.F. 1985. Primates in Nature. W.H. Freeman and western Madagascar. Oecologia 84:126-133. Company, New York.

Harcourt, C. and J. Thomback. 1990. Lemurs of Madagascar Richard, A.F., R.W. Sussman and G. Ravelojaona. 1985. and the Comoros. The IUCN Red Data Book. IUCN, Gland, Madagascar: current projects and problems in conservation. Switzerland and Cambridge, U.K. Primate Conservation 5:53-59.

Hladik, C.M. 1979. Diet and ecology of prosimians. Pages Tattersall, I. 1982. The Primates of Madagascar. Columbia 307-357 in G.A. Doyle and R.D. Martin (eds.), The Study of University Press, New York. Prosimian Behavior. Academic Press, New York.

TRI News Fall 1993 39 TOWARD VALUATION OF PROTECTION IN A CARIBBEAN CORAL REEF: A Bio-Economic Study of Envi­ ronmental Change in the Bay Islands, Honduras

Linwood H. Pendleton, DF &ES Candidate Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

INTRODUCTION marine protection. Scarce development funds are potentially being spent in an economically inefficient In theory, a marine park provides benefits by sustaining manner. non-consumptive recreational uses over time (see vant Hoft 1985, 1992, and Goodwin and Wilson 1986.) VALUING MARINE PROTECTED AREAS Previous valuations of tropical marine parks have measured park protection inaccurately because they use The value of a !Jlarine park comes from the protection it the value of the resource as a proxy for the value of the provides for the marine resource. The park must not be protection itself: Posner et al. (1981), van't Hoft (1989), confused with the resource that it protects. A marine Post (1992), and Dixon et al. (1993) estimate the gross park, or any protected area, acts to slow the predicted rate annual value of the reef resource for a single year, of negative environmental change in a habitat and attributing all or part of this value to protection. These possibly to enhance environmental quality. In pristine studies then conclude implicitly that all benefits would be areas, protection would not be warranted if there were no lost without the park. An examination of the case of the signs of impending negative environmental change. Even Bonaire Marine Park, in the Netherlands Antilles, shows with threatening negative change, it is unlikely that the that this is not necessarily true. resource or its economic benefit stream will disappear overnight. Yet this is the implicit assumption of past One of the largest economic benefits of the Bonaire studies. More correctly, one should expect the environ­ Marine Park comes from its role in sustaining park mental quality of the resource to change over time. The recreation. Dixon et al. (1993) credit the Bonaire Marine quality of the environment is expected to decline faster in Park with island-wide scuba tourism revenues, and in the absence of park protection. Figure 1 depicts the flow doing so imply that tourism would disappear in the of environmental/economic benefits from a single reef absence of the marine park. During the late 1980's, the resource with and without a marine park. The value of Bonaire Marine Park ceased to exist as an effective the park is the difference in economic flows with and protected area (Post 1992, Dixon et al. 1993 ). Neverthe­ without the park. less, tourism--primarily scuba tourism-- continued to grow each year. Between 1980 and 1988 growth in stayovers in- creased 4.4% annually; cruise ship visita- tion increased 21.1% annually (McElroy and Albuquerque 1991). Clearly, the Benefits with park cessation of park activities did not result in cr a total loss of the resource and hence did not result in the loss of all tourism, al­ Economic though the sustained absence of the park Value could have led to a gradual loss of tourism over time. without park This paper proposes that the economic present value of protection should be measured as the savings from avoided losses in reef Time value that would result from the absence of protection (see Pendleton 1993). Many of the authors cited above recognize this fact, Figure 1. Two potential paths for environmellfal and economic benefit flows. Dotted line yet still justify marine protection in terms gives a hypothetical benefit path with a park. in this case. the with park benefits increase of total tourism expenditures. As a result, over time due to managemellt or due to the increasing scarcity of the resource globally. large investments in marine park infrastruc­ The benefits without a park. solid line, are e.\pected to fall over time. The net benefit ofpark ture and operations are based on analyses protection is equal to the difference in the hvo benefit paths (V ,=proposed value). The annual value of the park, as given by previous studies, would be equal to the currellt annual that may overvalue the true impact of value of the resource (VP).

40 TRI News Fall1993 T

This study is the preliminary phase of a doctoral research Dive site visitation data are from a single resort, Anthony's Key project designed to estimate and model the economic Resort (AKR). The number of divers and the dive boat value of environmental changes in a coral ecosystem. destination was recorded for all day dives between July 30 and This initial work examines the role of environmental August 22, 1993. The number of divers per dive site per boat quality in determining the frequency of site-specific diver trip, number of visits to a dive site by dive boats, and the time visitation within the newly expanded Sandy Bay/West each dive occuned (moming or afternoon) were recorded. End Marine Reserve in Roatan, Honduras. A second study, not presented here, examines the ability of divers Regression Parmneters to perceive different levels of four environmental parameters. Four environmental parameters (% live coral cover, % algal cover, panut fish (Scaridae) abundance, and surgeon fish STUDY SITE (Acanthuridae) abundance were measured for each dive site using standard marine ecology techniques. All environmental The study examines divers and reef quality in the Sandy measures are indicative of the status of reef health. The presence Bay/West End Marine Reserve, located on the island of of topographically interesting attributes (caves, tunnels, etc.) Roatan, Honduras. The Marine Reserve stretches along were evaluated using a dummy variable. Time from the resort to approximately eight kilometers of Roatan's North West the dive site was measmed (minutes). At the suggestion of dive coast. The coral formation, part of the Belize barrier reef masters, the number of houses within view of the dive site also system, consists of platform/barrier reef walls and were included in the analysis. isolated patch reefs. The climate is wet tropical with approximately 2,500 mm of rain annually and an average PRELIMlNARY RESULTS temperature of 27°C (Calderon 1992). The principle tourist attraction of the reef is its easy access to deep The regression analysis shows that time to dive site, water wall diving. Drop-offs in excess of 60m can be topography, and certain environmental parameters are found within 150m of shore. important predictors of dive site visitation (boat visits/ site). The results, presented in Table I (below), show All diver data are for divers at Anthony's Key Resort that time to the dive site, the percent live coral cover at a (AKR), located in the heart of the former Sandy Bay dive site, and the presence of interesting topographic Reserve. AKR accommodates approximately 90% of all features are all significant at the 95% level or better. "package divers" visiting the Sandy Bay/West End Indicators of coral health, other than percent live coral Marine Reserve. (Package divers come to the island cover, are not significant. The number of houses within primarily to dive. Casual divers, or travelers, come to the view is not significant in the analysis, but the inclusion of island for other reasons and dive infrequently). this variable does increase the corrected R2 statistic. The analysis includes the house variable in order to avoid an METHODS omitted variable bias.

Estimating the Demand for Dive Sites: The Impact of Environmental Characteristics

The study examines the role of environmental characteris­ tics in the demand for dive sites (i.e., dive site visitation). A multiple regression is used to test the hypothesis that variable coefficient t -statistic significance level environmental parameters do not affect the demand for dive constant 2.897 1.533 >90% sites. Mathematically, the regression is represented as: coral 0.0701 1.786 >95%

V = a+ ~Z+)D+8X, topography 0.0417 2.945 >99.5% time -0.133 -2.183 >97.5% where V is the visitation to dive sites, a is a constant, Z is houses 0.173 1.16 <90% a matrix of environmental parameters (percent live coral cover and topographic features), Dis distance from the R-squared=0.82 Adjusted R -squared=O. 77 resort to the dive site (measured as time), and X is a matrix of terrestrial physical parameters. ~. y, and o are coefficients to be estimated. The regression then tests whether specific environmental, topographical, and time parameters play a role in determining the visitation rate to a dive site. Table 1: Regression Results

TRI News Fa111993 41 CONCLUSION ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This paper posits that the benefit of marine protection I would like to thank the Tropical Resources Institute, comes from the value of avoided environmental degrada­ The Nature Conservancy, and Anthony's Key Resort for tion. Environmental degradation ought to lead to a their generous support. reduction in the demand for reef recreation and thus a loss to divers and the local dive tourism industry. A LITERATURE CITED marine park benefits the economy to the extent that it prevents a reduction in the level of environmental quality. Calderon, R. 1992. Summary report on the natural This study demonstrates that both time and marine resource projects of the ORAMIB. United Nations environmental quality are important factors in predicting Development Program. Tegucigalpa, Honduras dive site visitation in the Sandy Bay/West End Marine Reserve. Dixon, J. and P. Sherman. 1990. Economics of Protected ( Areas. Island Press. Colvelo, CA The decision to visit a given dive site is a joint decision by both the divers and the dive master. Economic theory Dixon, J., L.F.Scura, and T. van't Hoft. 1993. Meeting suggests that divers want to maximize their utility, in this ecological and economic goals: marine parks in the case dive enjoyment. Theory also predicts that dive Caribbean. Ambio 22:2-3. masters try to maximize the level of diver utility. The negative relationship between time and dive site visita­ Goodwin, M. and M. Wilson, (eds.) 1986. Caribbean tion confirms these theoretical predictions. Transit time Marine Resources: Opportunities for Economic Develop­ to the dive site is a cost to divers because it reduces their ment and Management. USAID and NOAA. Washing­ vacation time. The positive relationship between live ton, D.C. coral cover and visitation indicates that environmental quality is important in the demand for dive site visitation. McElroy, J. and K. de Albuquerque. 1991. Tourism and styles and policy responses in the open economy-closed Implications for the scuba industly, economic theory, and environment context. In Caribbean Economics and marine policy Ecology. Caribbean Conservation Association, Barbados.

The study has shown that both cost (in terms of time) and Pendleton, L. 1993. Adding it all up: An economic environmental quality play a significant role in recreation valuation of a tropical marine park. Cambridge: Harvard demand, at least at the level of dive site choice. The Institute for International Development. implications for the local dive industry are clear. Since diver utility appears to be a positive function of environ­ Posner, B., C. Cuthbertson, E. Towle, and C. Reeder. mental quality, dive masters can improve their product by 1981. Economic impact analysis for the Virgin Islands choosing sites that have more coral cover. Loss of live Marine Park. Island Resources Foundation, St. Thomas. coral cover in nearby waters will reduce diver satisfaction and may reduce dive tourism revenues. Post, J. 1992. The economic feasibility and ecological sustainability of the Bonaire Marine Park. Paper pre­ The results of this study point the way toward the proper pared for the World Parks Congress, 10-21 February, valuation of marine protection. The statistical relation­ Caracas, Venezuela. ship between dive site visitation, time, and coral quality indicates that a class of estimation techniques known as Van't Hoft, T. 1989. Making marine parks self-sufficient: revealed preference methods might be used to value reef The case of Saba. Paper presented at the Conference on protection. The revealed preference methods permit the Economics and the Environment, November 6-8, Barbados. direct estimation of the value of environmental change by considering the travel cost to a destination and the Van't Hoft, T. 1985. The economic benefits of marine environmental quality of that destination. parks and protected areas in the Caribbean region. In: the Proceedings of the Fifth International Coral Reef Con­ My doctoral research will use both revealed preference gress, 27 May- 1 June, Tahiti. methods and survey techniques to attempt a more accurate estimation of the benefits of marine protection. In turn, better valuation of marine protection will help to ensure more efficient allocation of funding for protected areas in marine policy.

42 TRI News Fall 1993 T

A CASE STUDY ON THE ROLE OF INDIGENOUS CHILDREN'S ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Joaquin F. Leguia, MES Candidate Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies INTRODUCTION After examining written records in Villamontes, and explaining the purpose of the study to the village leader, In many low income rural societies, the economic or Captain, in Yuchan, I conducted a census, and mapped activities of children may contribute substantially to the area. The census was facilitated by a local school family incomes, and are a source of pride, and status, for teacher, who served as translator, and by a local woman the children themselves (Rodgers et al. 1981). In the who had been responsible for registering newborns for the world summit for children by UNICEF, it was concluded last decade. The age of the elders was estimated according that the "empowerment of children with knowledge and to historical events they remembered. Initially, I collected resources to meet their basic human needs and to grow to data in the local school during schooling hours, which their full potential should be -a primary goal of develop­ allowed the children and I to get acquainted. Once ment." Nevertheless, development projects frequently children were identified by household, sex, age and do not account for the role of children as active agents in kinship ties, I conducted routine, direct observations of the economic development process. A study was their behavior, facilitated by residence in the study area conducted in the Bolivian Chaco among the indigenous and participation in daily activities. The data gathered was Mataco-Nocten people to determine if the extent of the limited to random individual and group observations of involvement of children in economic activity warranted the children, due to their mobility within and outside the their incorporation into regional development strategies. village. I conducted interviews with heads of all house­ holds regarding the family/household environment of children. I also interviewed children regarding their Fishing, hunting and gathering have been the traditional participation in daily tasks. All direct observations were means of subsistence among the Mataco. In recent years, limited to the activities practiced by the Mataco during the the production and sale of woven bags has expanded at winter months of June and July. the expense of hunting. Attempts by non-governmental agencies to introduce horticulture have met with little PRELIMINARY RESULTS success. Currently, the semiarid ecosystem where the Mataco live is subject to uncontrolled hunting by The Mataco population of Yuchan consisted of 88 chaqueiios (mestizo cattle ranchers), overgrazing by individuals living in nine house clusters. Each cluster is cattle and goats, deforestation by foreign companies, and essentially a kin group cooperating for economic and intensive fishing by the army, the Mataco, and other social purposes. Decision-making authority rests with the local inhabitants (Aivarsson 1992). In response, the oldest male of the group. When the latter dies, the oldest United Nations Development Program, in conjunction female of the group succeeds him. In Yuchan two clusters with the Bolivian government, has developed project were headed by women. Mandatory military service for BOL/911021 to assist the social groups which inhabit the males at fifteen years of age, combined with the practice region, and avert ecological degradation. The present of exogamy, typically results in adult males infrequently study was conducted as part of a strategy for the incorpo­ returning to their native village to live. Generally, young ration of indigenous peoples in the project. female adults will remain in their home village and live with their spouses in the house cluster of the female's METHODS parents. Divorce and the abandonment of wives are becoming more frequent. The population under 16 years My study took place in the village of Yuchan (300 of age was 55% of the total. Of these, 59% were father­ meters elevation), located 120 kilometers southwest of less, and lived with their mothers or grandparents. Forty Villamontes in the province of Tarija in Bolivia. This is percent of the children are reportedly malnourished, due a semi-arid region (annual precipitation: 600mm) with primarily to vitamin A deficiency from lack of vegetables mixed xerophytic forest cover. The study lasted through in their diet (Esperanza 1993 ). the dry winter months of June and July. Fishing and bag weaving are the main economic activities during this The formal education of children is carried out according season. to a multigrade program for rural schools designed by UNICEF and the Bolivian Government. Language and mathematics are emphasized in this program. Though the

TRI News Fall 1993 43 children are introduced to agronomy, animal husbandry, and assisting in the use of trained dogs, slingshots and health, home economics, crafts, social and natural clubs. Typical game included armadillos (Priodontes science, the course material is theoretical and bears little maximus), rabbits (Lagostomus maximus), iguanas relation to the sunounding environment. Courses are (lguanu iguana), and birds such as Charata ( Ortalis taught bilingually by two Mataco teachers, one teaching canicollis). first grade in the morning, and the other teaching second grade in the afternoon. Both teachers are trained by the Collecting honey was another key activity, typically Swedish Free Mission in Villamontes. All girls between 5 involving a younger male smoking out a hive while an and 17 years of age attend school regularly (4 hours a older boy or adult cut down the branch where the hive day), as do all boys between 5 and 11 years. Boys older rested. Both girls and boys assisted their elders in than 11 were intensively engaged in fishing, attending gathering chagua, a plant from which fiber is extracted school inegularly or not at all. Table I shows the for fishing bags, nets and crafts (Fig.2). The children contribution of children to the family economy according learn from observation, and participation in assigned I , to gender and age. tasks. This participation seems to teach responsible behavior, while giving the children a sense of worth. Task Girls Boys Age Male children were observed to be adept in the identifica­ tion of fruit and medicinal plants found in the field and Small net fishing X >11 Large net fishing X X >7 collected on these expeditions, and often pointed these Hunting X >7 out to their elders. Limited observations of female Honey Gathering X >7 children on these gathering trips precluded analysis of Fruit Gathering X >7 similar skills among them. Fiber Gathering X X >7 Weaving bags X >11 Older girls weave chagua bags, which are sold to the Collect water X >5 missionaries or other institutions for marketing. The price Collect firewood X X >5 of one bag is equivalent to that of five fish. Once the fiber Taking care of necessary to make one bag has been collected (two large domestic animals X >5 Child care X X >5 chagua plants), weaving may take from one to three days. Water collection from the well, which is done exclusively Table 1. Children's tasks, according to gender and age. by girls, is very time consuming and demands consider­ able physical effort. In one case it took 40 minutes for Fishing, the main economic activity during this season, two girls, 8 and 5 years old, to fill up two 5 gallon was done either with small individual nets, called tijeras buckets and two 5 liter bottles with water, and take it to (Fig.1), or with large nets owned by a Mataco from a their homes one hundred meters from the well. Young nearby village who had kin ties with two home clusters in girls also help their mothers take care of domestic Yuchan. All fishing took place at a local fishing ground animals, by herding them, watering them, and cleaning in the Pilcomayo river, located 2 hours by foot from the canals. village. Sabala (Prochildus platensis) and Dorado (Salmius maxillosus) are the main fish caught. Individual fishing was done by four of the five Mataco boys above 11 years of age, who spend on an average 4-5 days a week fishing with varying success. Three of the latter were responsible for feeding their family, typically including a single mother and three younger siblings. When fishing with the large net, eight or more children of both sexes, between 7-11 years of age, assisted adults in netting, handling, cleaning, and canying fish.

Children were also involved in hunting, with boys seven years of age frequently accompanying adults or older siblings, Figure 1. A boy fishes with a tijera.

44 TRI News Fall 1993 T

One last important traditional task is child care. Older children typically take care of the younger, enabling adults to engage in other activities.

DISCUSSION

In Yuchan, children of all ages and sex are involved in a variety of economic activities that contribute to the overall well-being of their families. This was more salient in the case of children with no fathers, where older boys (11-15 years) were responsible for feeding their families. As the population continues to rise (Alvarsson 1992), and the Mataco territory diminishes in extent and quality, children will be forced to spend more time searching for food sources. Already, the Mataco are over-fishing to compensate for the loss of other traditional means of subsistence. A recent report from a governmental organization in Villamontes indicates that the quantity of fish caught has constantly decreased for the last past five years (Pyanov 1992). If this trend continues, the conse­ quences for the Mataco could be devastating. Non­ government organizations operating in the region have attempted to alleviate these pressures by introducing alternative subsistence strategies, including homegardens, yet these have met with little success. The failure of Figure 2. Yuchan children collect chagua homegardens was due in large part to lack of enthusiasm on the part of adult Mataco, who were the designated participants but who were also unaccustomed to horticul­ not only empower children and allow them to more fully tural and agricultural techniques. As an experiment, I had interact with their environment, but also alleviate the male and female children participate in the establishment typically overburdening workload of parents. of a homegarden. They responded with enthusiasm and interest. While this could be attributed to fleeting CONCLUSION youthful fascination with things new and different, it does stand in direct contrast to the response of adults. In Yuchan, Mataco children were observed to be very active and contributed directly with their daily tasks to I observed Mataco children to be energetic, open to new the well being of their family and community. Although ideas, and to have developed specific labor skills for a the extent of children's economic contribution requires variety of tasks. There is also a high rate of literacy broader and more intensive quantitative evaluation and among children, especially in comparison to adults. measurement, this study shows that it should not be Considering the above, and that children represent more ignored. Indeed, the contribution of children warrants full than 50% of the total population, their incorporation into consideration in plans for development and ecological regional development strategies as active agents in the remediation in the region. economic development of their community should be taken into account. Appropriate tools that enhance a ACKNOWLEDGMENTS child's ability to perform tasks, to grow, and to develop in their particular environment, should be given a This study was made possible with funds received from priority. While schooling has had a positive impact in the Tropical Resource Institute, advice from professor terms of literacy, the educational program is nevertheless William Burch at Yale University, and collaboration deficient in terms of its practical relevance to the chil­ received from Sergio Torres director of the UNDP office dren. In this sense the creation of a school farm and in la Paz, Carmelo Flores director of Programa Nacional school workshop, where children could practice animal del Ecosistema Chaquefio in Villamontes, Boris Green husbandry and agronomy, as well as develop skills such President of the Swedish Free Mission in Bolivia, Kent as weaving, would be beneficial. Such strategies would Roedel Director of Fundacion para el desarrollo Integrado de Bolivia, and the people of Yuchan.

TRI News Fall 1993 45 LITERATURE CITED

Alvarsson, J. 1992. Pueblo Mataco: Estudio socio­ Rodgers, G. and G. Standing. 1981. Child work, poverty, economico juridico. Proyecto Ten-itorio Indigena and underdevelopment. International Labor Organization, Weenhayek del Gran Chaco. Comisi6n Instituto Geneva. Indigenista Boliviano-Ministerio de Asuntos Campesinos y Agropecuarios. La Paz- Bolivia. Pyanov, Alejandro. 1992. A Study on the fish population of the Pilcomayo River. Unpublished Report, Codetar, Esperanza. 1993. Profile on the diversification and stabiliza­ Villamontes, Bolivia. tion of plant based food production by the Mataco Indians. Unpubl.document. Proyecto Esperanza, Villamontes-Bolivia.

STATUS, PROPERTY AND FOREST MANAGEMENT: WOMEN'S ROLE IN COMMUNITY FORESTRY IN NEPAL

Erin Hughes, MES Candidate Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

Generally unexplored are the linkages between the women's ability to gain access to or exercise control over the management, use and production of land and existing economic, political and social factors (Agrawal, 1989).

INTRODUCTION Some believe that participation of local residents in management yields greater equity of the resource This paper explores the relationships between culture, (Gilmour and Fisher 1991). social status and property rights within the context of an all-female community forestry group in Nepal. It is often To engage local people's participation in community asserted that community forestry addresses issues of forestry in Nepal, rangers and other forestry officials help equity by involving local people in resource manage­ create user groups and committees. Committees consist ment. Women (as well as other marginalized groups) of 7-15 people, and are responsible for facilitating user however, are often excluded from participating in local group meetings (open to all users of the forest) and forestry activities. The case study presented here suggests deciding how the forest will be managed. The forestry that even when women are involved in forestry activities, committee is the link between the government forest their role is marginal. Women of Sejuwal Takura in office and the community. Generally, members of forest Salayan District, Nepal, have formed their own forest committees are literate and are required to speak h management committee. Yet, the forest that the women public. control is degraded. The women's status and the value of the land that they control are inextricably linked. Women are the primary agents in managing subsistence households, including child care, cooking, agricultural production, and animal husbandry. Forests provide 75% of Nepal's energy needs and 40% of livestock nutrition Community forestry, the primary forest policy of Nepal, (Master Plan for the Forestry Sector 1988). Women, transfers management and responsibility of forest lands therefore, are the principal users of forest products of from the government to local users (CFDD 1991). In fuelwood and fodder. Despite the women's extensive Nepal, the government maintains ownership of the land forest use, they are noticeably absent from community but shifts usufruct to the users. This method of resource forestry user group committees (Regmi 1992; Insen-a management is promoted to maximize productivity of the 1988). In general, they have been excluded from manag­ forest and sustainability of the ecosystem. Moreover, ing the forests that they use. some proponents see community forestry as a means by which to offer more equitable control and distribution of Property and Social Relations forest products. In community forestry, the issue of equity is often examined in terms of product distribution, Women's marginalized position within forestry manage­ decision making, and allocation of funds generated from ment in Nepal can be understood by examining the the sale of forest products (Chhetri and Nurse 1992). relationship between property rights and social status.

46 TRI News Fall 1993 l. Community forestry entails redistribution of property with members of the all-woman forest committee and rights, where the control of the forest resources is given their husbands. In addition, semi-structured interviews to local people. Property theorists explain that a property with residents of each household in Sejuwal Takura were right is not the possession of an object, but is a social conducted. The District Forest Officer and staff of the relation (Macpherson 1978). To have a property right is Women's Development Office in the nearby District to have the ability to enforce a claim to a stream of Center of Khalanga were also interviewed. Supplemen­ benefits by excluding others (Macpherson 1978, Bromley tary socio-economic data was obtained from the USAID 1991 ). In other words, property is an enforceable claim, funded Rapti Zone Project. where other people's actions can be controlled (Macpherson 1978). Thus, it follows that rights are held THE CASE STUDY by those who have the power to exclude others. Sejuwal Takura is a village of approximately 200 people The ability to protect one's property is often assumed in in the Mid-Hills (at 900m) in the Mid Western Region of societies where laws protect property owners and where the country. The thirty-one houses of the village are there is equal access to government services and enforce­ surrounded by non-irrigated fields (bhari) where the ment. In the absence of state enforcement, property villagers raise corn, millet and fruit trees. In addition to rights are defined in terms of power relations within a these land holdings, most residents also own a parcel of society. Property rights are likely to be held by those inigated (khet) land in a valley 1.5 hours walk away, who have access to government institutions and services where rice, wheat and mustard (for oil) are grown. that legitimate people's claim. Livestock is kept for power (plowing), fertilizer (dung), consumption (milk and meat), and investment. Cattle Cultural norms define who has access to such government and goats are the preferred animals. This subsistence institutions. Culture is created by a society, but at the economy depends on access to grasses and fodder leaves same time it shapes people's behavior and values. to feed the livestock. People gather forest products from Cultural norms may restrict and deny individual's access trees on their own land but require access to forests, to institutions and services. In this case, culture influ­ which are primarily used for fodder (leaves from trees ences who will be educated, who will have access to and grasses from the forest floor), fuel wood, and timber. government services, and ultimately, shapes social In addition to several forests that are shared with other relations and reinforces one's social status. villages, one forest lies within the boundary of Sejuwal Takura (Fig.1 ). This is degraded forest land, comprised In sum, the enforceability of property rights is dependent of scattered shrubs, grass, and newly planted saplings. upon one's position in society and one's access to The forest's appearance is indistinguishable from the institutional structures to legitimate property claims. grazing land, yet it is legally classified by the government Social relations and status determine resource control as forest. This discussion centers around the control of (Berry 1989). Marginalized groups this land. often are prevented from gaining power within their society, and hence from access to resources. Thus even if "local" people are given rights to manage the forest, we need to understand who, at the local level has rights and to what. Women have control of a degraded forest, but because of their marginalized position in society, it is likely that they will not be able to maintain control as the resource improves.

METHODS

Research was conducted during the summer of 1993 in Sejuwal Takura, Salayan District. In depth, open­ ended interviews were conducted Figure 1. The village of Sejuwal Takura. Degraded forest managed by the women's forestry committee is shown in the foreground.

TRI News Fall 1993 47 Culture and Status planted orange and fodder trees on their private land. A livestock cooperative was implemented to provide loans, Traditionally, within this Chettri community, strong using the group's collateral, for agriculture or livestock cultural nmms shape women's public behavior and development. Most recently the WDO helped form the prevent them from becoming involved in the public women's forestry committee. They started to protect and arena, including forest committees. According to one restore the local degraded forest. survey, only four out of 121 women interviewed were literate (Rapti Zone Panchayet Resource Inventory Data Sejuwal Takura's Forestry Committee is comprised of 1988). Most of the women I interviewed did not send seven women between the ages of thirty-five and sixty their daughters to school, while all sons attended school. (Fig.2). They hold village meetings, organize plantings, Girls are kept from attending school because their labor is and protect the forest. User group meetings are attended too valuable at home. One woman explained: by both men and women. From these meetings a man­ agement plan wps agreed upon. The forest is open for "What can I do? To nm a household we need to raise goats, five days a year during November. One person from each cows and water buffalo. Grass needs to be cut {for the household is allowed to cut unlimited amounts of grass animals to eat], fodder needs to be collected. If my daughter does not stay home to work, we will not make it. " during this period. During July they organize plantings, and the Department of Forestry provides seedlings and Moreover, daughters are married at an early age (from technical advice. The forest has no fencing, nor any forest age 14) and leave their parent's household. Prospective guards. Instead, the women watch the land, with most of brides are valued for their working skills, not for their the responsibility falling on those living in closest ability to read and write. One informant commented that proximity to the land. Owners whose livestock is found it was not good to educate women. Normative social grazing in the forest are fined. Problems tend to be from values have kept women not only from access to educa­ members within the community. Peer pressure takes on tion, but also from access to the skills necessary to an important role in enforcing the plan. advance their social standing. Female committee members felt more at ease working on Women are inhibited from partaking in activities with a committee with only women. They were more likely to men. It is not considered appropriate for women to have contribute to discussions and felt a sense of importance; eye contact with men, to speak to men, nor to speak in autonomy and identity within their group. While they did public: "A woman who knows and talks too much is not object to the idea of men on the committee, in considered excessive and loose. An ideal woman is practice they felt that the presence of men would limit close-lipped and active in looking after the household" their own participation and control. Some doubted (Bista 1991). Women interviewed would not speak their whether they would remain on the committee if men also husbands' names for fear of being disrespectful. In this became members. culture, husbands are considered to be deities. Overall, the members of the village were pleased with the All of these factors contribute to exclusion of women presence of the forestry committee. Women of the from community management activities outside the village who were not involved in the WDO activities felt home. Traditionally, women do not have jobs, are not more comfortable having an all-woman committee. involved in local politics and rarely participate in According to the men of the village, the committee was a community activities. This limits their access to produc­ tion, and therefore material well being: reproducing similar patterns from generation to generation.

Women's Forestl)' Committee

Seven years ago the Women's Development Office (WDO) began literacy classes in Sejuwal Takura. Classes were held in the evening, and those with their husband's permission attended the class. Women learned the Nepali script, and each woman learned to sign her name. Several other activities evolved from this pro­ gram. The WDO also facilitated training sessions on agricultural and horticultural techniques, livestock raising, and cooperative loan formation. The women Figure 2. Four members ofthe women'sforesfl)' commiffee in Sejuwal Takura.

48 TRI News Fall1993 .[, good thing: it was good that the land was being improved. and influenced by the value of the resource. Socially However, each man interviewed thought that it would be constructed institutions and norms prevent some groups better if men also sat on the committee. Similarly, the from having access to resources (Agarwal 1989). Thus, if District Forest Officer said that the committee should be equity is a goal of community forestry, then it is impor­ representative of its community users, and should tant to recognize that participation alone does not result therefore include men. Eventually men will be accepted in more equal distribution of goods and benefits. We as committee members or, as the Forestry Official said, need also to understand who participates and how; who the Forestry Office would cease to recognize this forestry does not participate and why. committee as legitimate (it is not officially recognized at ) this point) and will support another committee. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

) DISCUSSION A grant from the Program in Agrarian Studies made this study feasible. I wish to thank readers of earlier versions The women's forestry committee has been operating for of this paper including professors Nancy Lee Peluso and four years. The formation of the committee has greater Angelique Haugerud, the participants of the Agrarian cultural than environmental implications. The women Studies' Graduate Student Colloquium, and Syma Ebbins. involved in these activities feel that their attitudes and perceptions have changed. Through the literacy classes LITERATURE CITED and trainings they have become confident in themselves. The women on the committee say that before their Agarwal, B. 1989. Who sows? Who reaps? Women and "wisdom was hidden": they were "asleep and unaware." land rights in India. Journal of Peasant Studies 15:531- Since their interaction with the WDO, they are not afraid 573. to speak in public nor to go to government offices. Without the influence of the literacy classes, the women Berry, S. 1989. Social institutions and access to resources. would not have become involved in the forestry commit­ Africa 59:41-55. tee. Bista, D. B. 1991. Fatalism and development: Nepal's Despite the great changes and effects that the committee struggle for modernization. Orient Longman Limited, and the WDO activities have had on the women's lives, Calcutta. the forestry committee has very little power. The women's committee has control of the forest because the Bromley, D.W. 1991. Environment and economy: property land is degraded. At this time, no one contests their rights and public policy. Blackwell, Oxford. claim to manage the land simply because it has no value. In terms of property rights, this "forest" has no benefit CFDD, 1991. The Community Forestry and Private stream and it is not difficult to enforce rights. Forestry Programme in Nepal. Community Forestry Development Division, Department of Forests, The forestry committee is improving its land through Kathmandu. planting trees and protection. As the value of the land increases, it is likely that the women will not maintain Chhetri, R.B.and M.C. Nurse. 1992. Equity in user group control. As the forest official noted, the forestry commit­ forestry: Implementation of community forestry in central tee needs the support of the Forestry Department, and Nepal. NAFP Discussion Paper, Kathmandu. will have to accept men to achieve legitimation and ) recognition by the government office. In this case, it is Gilmour, D.A. and R.J. Fisher. 1991. Villagers, forests and likely that the women do not have enough power within foresters: The philosophy, process, and practice of ) society to maintain their autonomy of the all-woman community forestry in Nepal. Sahayogi Press, Kathmandu. committee, and their control over the forest land. Inserra, A.E. 1988. Women's participation in community CONCLUSION forestry in Nepal: An analysis for the Forestry Develop­ ment Project). Unpublished U.S.A.I.D. Report. Community forestry attempts to redistribute property rights, and thus create more equitable outcomes. Prop­ Macpherson, C.B. 1989. The meaning of property. Pages erty rights, however, are fluid and constantly changing in C.B. Macpherson (ed.) Property: Mainstream and Critical Positions. University of Toronto Press, Toronto. arrangements. As the value of the resource shifts so do property rights. Access to and control of resources are Master Plan for the Forestry Sector, Nepal. 1988. Execu­ determined by the distribution of power within society tive Summary. HMGN/ADB/FINNIDA, Kathmandu.

TRI News Falll993 49

I Rapti Zone Panchayet resource inventory data. Regmi, S.C. 1992. Women in forestry: study of a women's 1988. Rapti Zone Project. USAID/Nepal. Unpub­ forest committee, in a Nepalese Village. HMG Ministry of lished. Agriculture/Winrock. Paper Number 20, Kathmandu.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY OF PHILODENDRON GIGANTEUM, ANTHURJUM CRENA TUM, AND ANTHU­ RIUM DOMJNESCENSE (ARACEAE) IN A SUBTROPICAL MOIST FOREST IN PUERTO RICO

Jane Whitehill, MFS Candidtate Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

INTRODUCTION I At one site, I recorded both flowering and non-flowering Recent studies of the reproductive biology of the individuals. Otherwise, individuals were flagged and family Araceae, the aroids, have concentrated on the numbered as they came into bloom. A census was taken plants' distinctive physiology and mechanisms for every three days, and the stage of development of each pollination. The family is largely tropical, repre­ inflorescence was recorded, as were time of day and weather sented by perennial herbs and vines such as Philoden­ conditions. For each inflorescence, I noted color, size, and dron and Anthurium. Floral architecture in the family the presence of scent, insect visitors, and heat. is characterized by the spadix, a stalk on which the flowers are borne, and its subtending spathe, a Insect sampling was canied out by placing sticky traps at and modified leaf or bract. away from inflorescences within each plot. Total numbers of visitors were recorded, and representative specimens from Like various other members of the family, Philoden­ each visiting species were preserved in a solution of 80% dron species have the capacity to use a cyanide­ ethanol with glycerin for later identification. resistant respiration (Elthon and Mcintosh 1986; Guy et al. 1989; Raskin 1992; Raskin et al. 1987, 1989, Temperature changes within three P. giganteum inflores­ 1990) to generate heat (Cook and Commack 1985; cences were measured with copper-constantan thermocouples Urdentlich et al. 1991) and thus to volatilize various and recorded in a data logger (Fig.1 ). Readings were highly scented compounds to attract pollinators (Kibota and Courtney 1991).

In the summer of 1993 I studied aroids at El Verde, on the western slopes of the Luquillo Experimental Forest in northeastern Puerto Rico. Research focused on the following topics:

1) the flowering phenology of Philodendron gigantewn, Anthurium crenatum and A. dominicense; 2) insect visitors to the three study species; and 3) the possibility of thermogenesis in P. giganteum.

METHODS

I followed floral development in P. giganteum, A. crenatum, and A. dominicense from 15 June through 20 August 1993 in selected plots at El Verde. Philodendron giganteum was studied in three sites: one in a periodically inundated swamp, and two on rocks above a stream. Anthurium crenatum and A. dominicense were monitored in rocky sites, one of which had no aroids but A. crenatum, and one which had a mixture of both Anthurium species. Figure 1. Diagrammatic representation of Philodendron gigallfeum. Arrows denote points oftlzemwcoup/e insertion.

50 TRI News Fall 1993 --- Internal 45.00 ---Ambient 40.00

35.00

"' 30.00 '<;;" e 2s.oo ~ ...~ 20.00 Q 15.00

10.00

5.00

0.00 - I ~-- 0 ·O 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 <') 8 <') 0 C') 8 <') C') 0 0 C') 0 0 <') 0 <') 0 <') 0 C') <') lO ..() co o- N ~ <') ~ ..() 1"-. o- 8 N <') lO ..() co o- N ~ C'i N >- c;:j N 15-Aug 16-Aug 17-Aug

Figure 2. Changes in intemal spadix temperature of Philodendron giganteum compared to ambient temperature. initiated 24 hours prior to the opening of the spathe and Gottsberger 1991). They were observed approaching continued until 14 hours after the spathe had completely from the back of the inflorescence, away from the spathe closed. Measurements were taken from the spathe and opening. Sticky trap data supported this observation. from various parts of the spadix. In each trial, one Ants (Formicidae) and spiders (Salticidae) were also thermocouple was maintained in the ambient air. found on several individuals of A. crenatum.

Voucher specimens of the three study species and other Scent production varied from species to species. A. local aroids have been deposited in the herbaria at the dominicense produced no scent at all; A. crenatum gave Luquillo Experimental Forest and the University of off a yeasty odor; and P. giganteum produced a sweet Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras (cfPrance et al. 1987). odor (see Croat 1980 for scent classification). Scent production in A. crenatum peaked in the late afternoon. RESULTS In P. giganteum scent production was enhanced by the plant's ability to produce heat internally (Kibota and Individuals of P. giganteum in the swampy site appeared Courtney 1991) and thus was most noticeable during the in equal numbers as both large erect herbs (ht>2m) and as heating peak, between 1930 and 2130. woody vines, whereas there were only a few vines at one stream-side site and none at the other. The swamp I demonstrated thermogenesis in P. giganteum by individuals, both vines and herbs, appeared to be clones, recording an internal spadix temperature as high as sprouting out of the runners of older plants. 40.13°C in an ambient temperature of 21.59°C (Fig.2). Elevated temperatures were never recorded in the spathe, Philodendron giganteum was not in bloom at El Verde at but only in the spadix. Temperature change in the spadix the beginning of the study, although there were rotting followed a stereotypic pattern within the flowering inflorescences on the ground at the periodically flooded phenology of the species. plot. Flowering began with the appearance of a closed inflorescence on 4 July. Thereafter, increasing numbers The spathes opened between 1100 and 1300 on the first of inflorescences developed, but at any one time, no more day of flowering and did not close until late the second than two inflorescences in any plot were open. Both A. night, about 36 hours later. Internal temperatures during crenatum and A. dominicense were in bloom throughout the twenty-four hours prior to this opening were close to the study period. ambient. During the afternoon of the first day, the internal temperature of the spadix rose, reaching a peak An inventory of insect visitors showed that species of the just before 2000 that evening. Temperatures above 30°C order Diptera visited all three study species. When were maintained until just after 0200 the next morning. approaching P. giganteum inflorescences from a distance, Internal temperature of the spadix rose again in the Diptera species flew in a zig-zag pattern typical of a afternoon and evening of day two, in the same pattern as scent-guided path (Gottsberger and Silberbauer- on day one but not as high.

TRI News Fall 1993 51 DISCUSSION

Both structure and physiology in the Araceae seem intended to promote outcrossing. Thermogenesis, widespread but not universal in the family, may allow a plant to emit scent effectively in darkness and to distant pollinators. In addition to giving off scent, the P. giganteum populations examined also produced showy ivory and purple inflorescences that averaged 30 centime­ ters in height. Despite intricately coordinated mecha­ nisms for sexual reproduction, the P. giganteum individu­ als at these sites appeared to be reproducing vegetatively, thus raising questions about the relative contribution of sexual versus asexual reproduction. Further research will quantify the presence or absence of viable pollen and the genetic composition of these apparently clonal groups.

~ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I~ resistant and cyanide-sensitive respiration in This research was funded by the Tropical Resources plan~:. Planta 177:483-491. Institute and the Edna Bailey Sussman Fund. The University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras, the Terrestrial Kibota, T.T. and S.P. Courtney. 1991. Jack of one trade, Ecology Division, Center for Energy and Environment master of none; host choice of Drosophila Research, and El Verde Field Station provided generous magnaquinaria. Oecologia 86:251-260. use of their equipment, materials, and facilities. Many individuals gave of their time and expertise. I want to Prance, G.T., W. Balee, B.M. Boom, R.L. Carneiro. thank especially D. Acasta, J. Ackerman, M. Aide, F. 1987. Quantitative ethnobotany and the case for conser­ Axelrod, J. Bithorn, G. Camilo, A. Cedeno, A. Estrada, vation in Amazonia. Conservation Biololgy 1:296-310. D. Fernandez, D. Garcia, B. Girdler, G. Meyer, E. Nazario, G. Proctor, C. Taylor, K. Vogt, and J. Raskin, I. 1992. Salicylate, a new plant hormone. Plant Zimmerman. Physiology 9:799-803. LITERATURE CITED I •' Raskin, I., A. Ehmann, W. R. Melander, B.J.D. Meeuse. I 1987. Salicylic acid: a natural inducer of heat production Cook, N.D. and R. Commack. 1985. Effects of tempera­ in Arum lilies. Science 237:1601-1602. ture on electron transport in Arum maculatum mitochon­ dria. Plant Physiology 79:332-335. Raskin, I., I.M. Turner, and W.R. Melander. 1989. Regulation of heat production in the inflorescences of an Croat, T.B. 1980. Flowering behavior of the neotropical Arum lily by endogenous salicylic acid. Proceedings of genus Anthurium (Araceae). American Journal of Botany the National Acadamy of Science (USA) 86:2214-2218. 67: 888-904. Raskin, I., H. Skubatz, W. Tang, and B.J.D. Meeuse. Elthon, T.E. and L. Mcintosh. 1986. Characterizations 1990. Salicylic acid levels in thermogenic and non­ and solubilization of the alternative oxidase of thermogenic plants. Annals of Botany 66: 369-373. Sauromatum guttatum mitochondria. Plant Physiology 82:1-6. Urdentlich, A., R.A. Linzer, and I. Raskin. 1991. Alter­ native respiration and heat evolution in plants. Plant Gottsberger, G. and I. Silberbauer-Gottsberger. 1991. Physiology 97: 1545-1550. Olfactory and visual attraction of Eriocelis emarginata (Cyclocepalini, Dynastinae) to the inflorescences of Philodendron selloum (Araceae). Biotropica 23:23-28.

Guy, R.D., J. Berry, M.L. Fogel, and T.C. Haering. 1989. Differential fractionation of cyanide isotopes by cyanide-

52 TRI News Fall 1993 SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF GOVERNMENT AGROFORESTRY PROGRAMS ON FARMERS IN TWO RURAL COMMUNITIES COCLE PROVINCE, PANAMA Mirei E. Endara, MES Candidate Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

INTRODUCTION

Rural Panama has become dependent on a cash economy nary study was canied out in two separate communities in response to increasing population pressure, transporta­ (of the original 10), Santa Cruz de Perecabeicito and tion facilities, communication, and educational opportu­ Llano Grande de Anton (Fig. 1, next page). For four nities. Consequently, young farmers (14-35 years) tend weeks, the daily chores, needs, and resources of commu­ to migrate to cities and wealthy farms in search of nities were observed, each using semi-structured inter­ subsistence opportunities unavailable in agricultural views, visits to individual and group plots, and participa­ fields (Charkroff 1980). This migration is exacerbating tion in field work. already critical levels of-unemployment in urban areas. Farmers who do work their own fields can no longer STUDY SITES subsist from traditional swidden agriculture due to low yields and poor resources. Markets do not provide Study sites were chosen according to accessibility and farmers with incentives for investment in agriculture. length of participation in the project. It was assumed that Were opportunities in rural Panama available, the patticipation from the project's onset would provide for migration might be curtailed and the burdens of farmers better assessment of project impacts; the community of and cities alleviated; there is, therefore, an eminent need Santa Cruz was therefore chosen. Two groups at Llano for economic alternatives to agriculture in rural Panama. Grande de Anton, formed in 1992, were also studied.

In an attempt to decrease migration and increase opportu­ Geographic and climatic regimes vary significantly in the nities for rural farmers, INRENARE, the government two communities. Santa Cruz de Perecabeicito (80°30'N, agency responsible for the management and protection of 8°40'W) is located in the central highland area of Cocle natural renewable resources in Panama, and CARE (240m altitude). It is classified as humid tropical initiated INRENARE/CARE/COMUNIDAD in 1987, a premontane forest in the Holdridge system (Tosi 1971, development project in agroforestry. The project's IGNTG 1988). Precipitation fluctuates between 2000- objective is promotion of agroforestry practices in rural 3000mm, inegularly distributed from May to November. communities on a self-help basis, where farmers learn Llano Grande de Anton lies in a lowland zone (80° 15'N, and practice alternative and sustainable land uses in 8°20'W, 80m altitude), and is classified as dry tropical group plots and then apply those practices they prefer on forest (Tosi 1971). Precipitation varies from 1100- their individual parcels. The project closely follows 1650mm a year, with a definite dry season lasting 4-5 guidelines of other CARE development projects in months (December to April). 1993 was a particularly dry agroforestry (Conway 1989), and uses multiple purpose year, with minimal rainfall until early August. tree species (MPTS) recommended by a previous interna­ tional reforestation and firewood program. Llano Grande de Anton has 80 families (400 people), a large elementary school, electricity (not evenly distrib­ INRENARE/CARE started in the province of Cocle as a uted), telephone lines, a government district office, a pilot program in I 0 communities (CARE Internacional en health center, and a main dirt road. Houses are mostly Panama 1989). To date, two project evaluations have one to two rooms made of concrete with tin roofs, and been canied out. CARE completed one in 1989 which although some have access to gas stoves, wood stoves did not evaluate the project's socio-economic impacts on predominate. Fruit trees, such as coconuts, mangoes, and the communities, concentrating instead on adoption rates bananas, are customarily planted for household con­ of introduced agroforestry techniques. INRENARE sumption and fertilized with green manure. Llano canied out the other evaluation in 1992, focusing on three Grande is quite dry, and fruit trees do not regenerate or communities and following a rapid rural appraisal format. grow naturally: they require planting and maintenance. Results are still in preparation. Presumably, it is a more Llano Grande is located 6 km from the only interstate comprehensive evaluation of the ecologic and socio­ highway in the country, resulting in increased interaction economic aspects involved in project adoption. In order with urban zones, and high migration for jobs or school­ to address the INRENARE/CARE project's effectiveness ing. Most young adults in Llano Grande have received in providing alternative land practices to farmers and its high school degrees and a few even had university socio-economic impacts on rural communities, a prelimi- degrees.

TRI News Fall 1993 53 The population of Santa Cruz consists of some 300 agroforestry practices on the group plots. The groups are people, comprising 60 families . Access to the commu­ small, comprised of 10-15 participants. nity is by a paved road, and the nearest large town is located approximately 30.5 km away. Electricity, telephone lines, and health care facilities are absent. Material incentives (seeds, seedlings, nursery building Houses are small, one to two rooms, built from clay and materials, tools) are provided by INRENARE. Food-for­ hay mixtures over wood pole frames with thatched roofs. work incentives come from the Programa Mundial de There is a small elementary school (three grades per Alimentos (PMA), a program sponsored by FAO (Food room per teacher). Few in the community have high and Agriculture Organization) to promote participation in school education. development projects in rural communities. Incentives have often become a hindrance to the program because they encourage dependency and cloak the long term benefits of agroforestry (CARE Internacional en Panama 1989, Conway 1989).

EVALUATION PROCEDURE

Evaluation of the socio-economic and ecologic impacts of the agroforestry program was based on observation of daily chores, field work, semi­ structured interviews of agroforestry group participants and non-partici­ pants, and visits to individual homes and plots. The observation of daily chores highlighted the farmers' and communities' needs and resources. Field work provided an idea of farmers' tasks. Interviews assessed the individual's knowledge ofland use, perceptions of group work and dynamics, views on community and farm priorities and needs, and whether any of the learned agroforestry practices had been applied. More specifically it surveyed demographics, human, animal, and plant resources, tree planting customs, group work experience, perceptions of needs, and attitudes towards the land. Fourteen community members and the school teacher were interviewed in Santa Cruz de Perecabeicito. All five Figure 1. Study sites Sallta Cruz de Perecabeicito (top) and Llano Grande de Anton (bottom). agroforestry group members were interviewed. The rest of the COMMUNAL AGROFORESTRY SYSTEM interviewees were chosen by selecting every fifth house in the community, including those houses located far The organizational structure of the project at the regional away from the main road. In Llano Grande, a total of 25 level consists of INRENARE extensionists, "promoters" agroforestry group members were interviewed: 15 from (selected and trained community members), and commu­ Llano Grande Abajo, the more recently formed group nal agroforestry groups. The extensionists recruit (1992), and 10 from Llano Grande Arriba, the group that personnel, monitor the project, and budget activities. The started with the project in 1987. Finally, visits to promoters organize local agroforestry groups, establish individual plots analyzed the spatial use and productivity communal nurseries, and apply soil conservation and of farms. Visits allowed comparisons between farmers'

54 TRI News Fall 1993 planting habits, and what percentage of each farm was labor intensity. Men also collect firewood, mostly from utilized for agroforestry. secondary forests located 15 to 40 minutes by foot from their homes. In a few instances in Llano Grande, how­ The study period coincided with the rainy and planting ever, women gathered firewood from felled trees or from season (June-July 1993). Each community was evaluated live fences. for four weeks. The first week was dedicated to commu­ nity reconnaissance, getting acquainted with the villagers Women tend the house (cook, clean, wash clothes), and their location, mapping roads and houses in the children, elderly, animals and garden. These daily chores community, and observing in detail their daily chores. occupy women from 4:30am to 9:00pm, almost non­ The second and third week were allocated to interviews stop. Women and children harvest fruits for sale and for and visits to individual group member plots. Field work their own consumption (e.g., mangoes, nance). When was also included in these weeks. The fourth week was time permits, or when pressed for cash, women and some used to cover miscellaneous issues, revisit certain farmers men in Santa Cruz braid hats and baskets from native or plots, and confirm statements made or events that herbaceous plants (e.g. Cardulovica spp.) unfolded during the evaJuation. Agroforestl)' Program Impacts RESULTS The INRENARE/CARE project's main foci are tree Social Observations - Demographics nursing and planting. All groups are dependent on INRENARE for seeds, guidance in planting, cleaning, Sixty percent of Llano Grande and Santa Cruz commu­ and thinning activities. Agroforestry is actively practiced nity members are over 50 or under 21 years of age. The in the Llano Grande group plots. The agroforestry average family has 8 members. Approximately 25-33% practices applied in the group plots, however, are gener­ of the population migrate to cash economies, i.e., 2-3 ally labor intensive (e.g., contour planting, ponds for rice members per family. The higher percentages correspond and fish), and therefore farmers have not integrated them to Llano Grande due to its proximity to the in their private plots. The most frequently adopted Interamericana Highway. Economically, Llano Grande agroforestry practice is taungya planting, annual crops seems to be supported by community members working cultivated among MPTS seedlings. Because MPTS grow in cities. Migrants tend to retire between the ages of 57 rapidly, taungya systems can only be used for only 1-2 to 65 in their home communities and take care of their consecutive years in a given plot before trees shade out parents. Farmers who remain in the community all their the annual crops. lives--approximately 20% of the rural population-­ practice swidden agriculture. Ownership patterns vary in The group in Santa Cruz is not active because the the communities. Llano Grande is characterized by affiliated INRENARE extensionist never visits the ownership of large abandoned rice fields, 6-20 ha, by a community. Lack of supervision from INRENARE few families. These lands were claimed through allowed the group promoter to exploit the project's name possessor's rights when they were cultivated with rice, and organization in building a small kiosk business to sell although some are now trying to get titles for their items such as drinks, candy, cigarettes, kerosene, and properties. Farmers in Santa Cruz, on the other hand, bread. He has convinced the group members of the generally have lands under 5 ha. The old established financial benefits this business will bring, when in reality, families have their lands under possessor's rights, the kiosk will not provide much cash to the group whereas newly established families have purchased their members. A kiosk already exists in Santa Cruz which properties. yields little return to its owners. Though the most probable outcome will be a more distinct community Gender Roles division, all group members have agreed to build the store instead of maintaining and improving their group Gender roles in community/family chores are well and individual plots. defined. Men do the field work. Typically they clear 0.5 to 1.0 ha, burn, and plant in anticipation of rain. Tradi­ The groups in Llano Grande are very active and moti­ tional crops include maize, rice, manioc, and beans (and vated. Perhaps some of their motivation stems from sugar cane in Llano Grande). Clearings are not cultivated food-for-work incentives rather than from actual interest for more than 1 year because the soil is nutrient poor. in agroforestry (Jeff Luoma, Peace Corps Volunteer, Typically low yields, 0.9-1.2 mT/ha for maize and rice personal communication). Llano Grande Arriba has been and 0.4 mT/ha for beans (INRENARE extensionist, active since 1987, and has a close-knit core of members. personal communication), demand a minimization of Group work includes maintenance of member's plot

TRI News Fall 1993 55 -

(cleaning weeds, thinning), nursety upkeep and reforesta­ Agroforestry is more appropriate for communities that tion. There is an on-going group effort to reforest have strong traditions of land work, and where natural abandoned rice fields with Pinus caribaea and mixed regeneration is mild. Where natural regeneration is species plantations. Many of their MPTS are maturing minimal, subsistence farmers need to tend their plants to and require thinning, but there are neither facilities nor ensure their survival. Perhaps this is part of the reason markets for the product. INRENARE extensionists do the Llano Grande groups have remained active: environ­ not play a visible role in this group, but do visit each mental conditions are harsh and natural regeneration is week for updates on group activities, deliver seeds, poor. In Santa Cruz, however, the native vegetation is propose new activities, or inform the group of future rich and farmers unaccustomed to intensive maintenance, visitors. introducing labor intensive practices appears inappropriate.

Llano Grande Abajo formed in 1992. The group is still To increase genuine farmer's interest and participation in learning techniques, working on nurseries and planting the project, a more holistic approach is necessary in group plots. In a few random instances the Abajo group future projects or project modifications. The need to was able to sell MPTS seedlings. Last July (1993), their consider social values and market opportunities was INRENARE extensionist arranged the sale of 4,000 Pinus exhibited in this study. However, there are other social caribaea seedlings to an independent buyer. The group factors, both at the micro level, such as community size, seemed enthusiastic about the sale. resources, traditions, and at the macro level, such as property rights and enforcement of law and order, that Group tasks are often defined by gender and age. Men also require attention (Conway 1989, Burch and Parker take charge of field chores: making holes in the soil for 1992). Farmers need to be involved in the program the trees, tilling the soil for cereal, planting, and cleaning design and decision processes. Likewise, government trees and crops. Ages of men range from 14 to 74, the and supporting organizations must secure viable and fair majority being in their 50's and 60's. The younger markets for goods, so that the program becomes indepen­ members are typically assigned the more strenuous dent from them and productive for farmers (Conway chores. Approximately half the members in the Llano 1989, Burch and Parker 1992). Grande groups are women, ranging in age from mid 20's to early 60's. Older women generally cook lunch for the Small modifications to the INRENARE/CARE project group, and younger women clean and water in the could significantly improve its effectiveness. For nursery. Occasionally, they participate in "men's" chores example, a focus on forest plantations, with which if there is a need for it. farmers are familiar through agroforestry group activities, will provide a cash influx to the communities, given All groups statted with at least 30 participants. The market access. This will also provide the ecological number of participants decreased to 5 in Santa Cruz, 14 benefits of agroforestry (soil enrichment, erosion control). in Llano Grande Abajo and 10 in Llano Grande Arriba. The addition of a woodworkers' cooperative, where Interest in the groups tends to wane when incentives are farmers have access to tools, learn carpentry, and have a not reliable, e.g., food-for-work incentives arrive late or secure market for their products, would also give young not at all, and when members have other priorities such fat·mers incentives to stay in their communities. By the as job opportunities in the city or sick relatives. Only same token, wage opportunities in rural Panama would those with strong attraction to agriculture, community help alleviate the increasing unemployment rates in the participation or devotion to project organizers remain as cities. permanent members in the group. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS DISCUSSION I thank Florencia Montagnini and William Burch from Results indicate that the communities of Santa Cruz and Yale University's School of Forestry and Environmental Llano Grande are not benefitting from the INRENARE/ Studies, Stanley Heckadon from the Smithsonian Tropi­ CARE program. The program does not achieve its cal Research Institute (STRI) in Panama, INRENARE's development objective because it does not address the Department of Human Ecology and Cocle' s Office for communities' needs or realities. This failure can be traced their support in the realization of this study. Likewise, I to the top-down approach of the project; it was not thank Mrs. Grey Gaona and Mrs. Marfa de Lorenzo for tailored to the specific subsistence strategies and socio­ their hospitality, Jeff Luoma and Nuria Mufiiz-Miret for economic situations of target communities. Agroforestry sharing their field experiences and insights, and Steve is not perceived as a viable subsistence tool in these Harrington for reviewing this manuscript. communities.

56 TRI News Fall 1993 LITERATURE CITED

Burch, W.R. and J.K. Parker. 1992. Social science Charkroff, M. (ed). 1980. Panama: Condiciones del applications in Asian agroforestry. Winrock International media ambiente y de los recursos naturales. International and South Asia Books. USA. pp. 187. Science and Technology Institute, Inc. Washington, D.C.

CARE Internacional en Panama. 1989. Proyecto Instituto Geografico Nacional Tommy Guardia (IGNTG). agroforestal para el desarrollo comunal INRENARE/ 1988. Atlas nacional de la Republica de Panama. El CARE/COMUNIDAD. Informe de la evaluaci6n Instituto. Panama. Sumativa.

Chambers, R., A. Pacey, and L.A. Thrupp (eds). 1989. Farmer first: Farmer innovation and agricultural research. Intermediate Technology Publications. London.

PATIERNS OF SUCCESSION IN A NORTII YUCATECAN TROPICAL DECIDUOUS FOREST

Kenneth D. Pruitt, MES Candidate Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

INTRODUCTION of several potential projects, a project to develop a forest management plan was chosen for immediate implementa­ For generations the Mayan village of Sahcaba, like most tion. It is hoped the plan will provide a wide range of villages in northern Yucatan, relied on the cultivation and management options. sale of Henequen (Agave sp.) for much of its income. This came to an end in 1992 when almost all Henequen SITE DESCRIPTION fields were abandoned due to the elimination of govern­ ment subsidies for Henequen processing plants. The Sahcaba is located approximately 60 kilometers SE of cessation of Henequen cultivation has eliminated a major Merida city in northern Yucatan, Mexico (20° 27'N and source of income for Sahcaba's residents. Mayan 88° 59'W). The village's population of 1483 own 1400 families, struggling to replace this lost income, have been hectares of land (most communally), which is a mosaic of forced to intensify swidden farming of their milpas milpa (agricultural fields) and monte (secondary forest). (traditional agricultural fields). However, seasonal milpa This land is managed under a swidden system. Forested harvests, while providing important food staples and areas up to two hectares (depending on family size) are limited cash income, cannot adequately replace the cleared and planted with corn, beans and squash. After former lucrative trade in Henequen. two years, nutrients are depleted, the site is abandoned, and a new site is cleared. Secondary forests growing in A potential source of income might come from enhanced fallow areas range from 1 to 30 years, but average fallow utilization of Sahcaba's montes (communal secondary length is 8 years. forests), which are currently exploited only for firewood, materials for construction of thatched huts, and a few Roldan ( 1985) classified the forest in this zone as a low­ medicinal plants. The community has expressed a desire height tropical deciduous forest (Selva baja caducifolia). to create a forest management plan, but the lack of Climate is warm sub-humid with a dry season in winter quantitative data on the composition and structure of and early spring. Mean annual temperature is 27.5°C, and Sahcaba's forest has slowed planning efforts. This mean annual precipitation is 978mm. The rainy season is research project is an attempt to provide the framework between June and October (Rico-Gray et al. 1988 after for a forest management plan. Roldan 1985).

The Autonomous University of Yucatan (UADY), METHODS through its Program for Management and Conservation of Tropical Natural Resources (PMCRNT), is working with Field work was performed in July and August 1993. community leaders in Sahcaba to develop environmen­ Three montes 2, 10, and 30 years old were chosen for tally sustainable sources of income and subsistence. Out study. The research goal was to document successional

TRI News Fall 1993 57 changes in forest species composition and structure. Table 1 (facing page) summarizes the density, relative Compositional and structural changes are more frequent density, and mean dbh for the ten most numerous species during early stages of succession in northern Yucatan in each age class. Density is estimated per hectare based (Negreros-Castillo, Olmstead, personal communication). on 1000m2 (0.1 ha) sample areas. For this reason the first two montes chosen were under 10-years-old; the third was 30-years-old. Relative densities of the species sampled changed as a function of age. The relative density of Lonclwcmpus In each of the three montes five 10 x 20 m plots were yucatanensis is 13.6 (i.e., 13.6% of all trees ~ 1.0 em dbh selected, the first plot chosen randomly with the succeed­ are members of this species) at age 2, rising to 15.2 by age ing four plots oriented to be contiguous with each other. 10, then dropping to 9.7 by age 30. The relative density of This layout was chosen in order to accommodate the Gymnopodiumjloribundum is only 4.0 at age 2, rising small size of two of the montes and to avoid double­ dramatically to 19.7 by age 10, and to an overwhelmingly counting individuals within montes. Together, the 5 plots dominant 31.3 by jlge 30. 2 in each monte encompassed 1,000 m • This area was judged sufficient to encounter the majority of species in this region by Rico-Gray et al. (1992). Scattered plots in Successional Processes distinct montes of the same age class would have been preferable, but an insufficient number of montes of the The number of individuals present in the 10-year-old appropriate ages were available for study (permission monte greatly exceeds those sampled in montes aged 2 from land owners was not always granted). In each 10 x and 30. This relationship is a result of normal succes­ 20 meter plot, all woody stems with a diameter at breast sional processes. In the 2-year-old monte the majority of height (dbh) of~ 1 em were identified by species and woody stems did not reach the minimum allowable dbh measured for height and dbh. Groups of coppice sprouts of 1.0 em for inclusion in the study; only 358 individuals from the same individual counted as one individual. met or exceeded 1.0 em dbh. In the 10-year-old monte, most woody stems had grown to 1.0 em dbh or greater, RESULTS increasing the number included in the sample (1 ,581 individuals). In the 30-year-old monte, crown closure Forest Composition had become a factor in increased competition among individuals of the same or different species, thereby A total of 69 distinct species with a minimum dbh of 1.0 eliminating many individuals and leaving a sample size em were observed in the fifteen 1Om x 20m study plots, smaller in number (592 individuals-- 113 the number of represented by 2531 individuals. The 2 year old monte the 10-year-old monte) but larger in dbh and height. contained 33 species; the 10 and 30 year old montes contained 51 and 38 species, respectively. Species-area Coppice versus Seed Reproduction curves approach a plateau in all instances, indicating the size of the study areas (1000m2 per monte) may reason­ Several researchers have noted the importance of ably encompass an adequate sample of the woody plant coppicing as a method of reproduction in the dry tropics species in the region (Fig. 1). This is especially true in (Ewel 1977, 1980, Murphy and Lugo 1986a, b). This the 30-year-old monte. presumably results from the difficulty of reproduction from seed in the dry tropics, which is a 60~------, function of soil and water constraints and Ill Q) human activity. 'ij 50 Q) D. (/) 40 It is likely that human activity plays a very important role in determining the coppice/ -0 30 seed ratio of reproduction in Sahcaba' s forests. Forest is cleared under a swidden z-Q) 20 system as frequently as possible to allow I! ::J maximum crop area. As a result, the average E 10 age of montes is only 8 years (the 30-year-old ::J 0 study site is not part of the milpa/monte 0 system). Frequent cuttings and burnings have 0 200 400 600 800 1000 presumably favored species that reproduce Cumulative Area Sampled, Sq. Meters through coppicing rather than from seed. Eight of ten species with highest densities in Figure 1. Species-area cwl'es for three montes aged 2, 10 and 30 years.

58 TRI News Fall1993 L__ Age2 Rei. X St. The relatively small sample size (1000m2 per monte) and Species Den. Den. dbh Dev. choice of contiguous plots instead of replicate samples 1 Lonchocarpus yucatanensis 480 13.6 1.28 0.25 may limit the accuracy of the data in providing a fully 2 Piscidia piscipula 420 11.9 2.64 1.20 representative sample of each age class. For this reason, 3 Bourreria pulchra 410 11.6 1.99 0.52 further study may be desirable. However, the immediate 4 Bauhinia divaricata 400 11.4 1.24 0.19 5 Bursera simaruba 310 8.8 1.95 0.76 need for a preliminary forest management plan may 6 Colubrina greggii 190 5.4 1.42 0.24 render sampling inconsistencies insignificant. 7 Diospyros cuneata 180 5.1 1.46 0.45 8 Gymnopodium floribundum 140 4.0 1.42 0.35 9 Mimosa bahamensis 120 3.4 1.32 0.24 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 10 Colubrina ferruginosa 120 3.4 153 0.20 Total: 2270 78.7 The project was made possible by grants from the Tropical Resources Institute, the Council for Latin AgelO Rei. X St. Species Den. Den. dbh Dev. American Studies, and the Yale Center for International and Area Studies. I would like to thank Juan Bautista 1 Gymnopodium floribundum 3100 19.7 2.62 0.99 Chin Chi, Edilburto Ucan Ek, Luz Maria Ortega Tones, 2 Mimosa bahamcnsis 2740 17.4 2.44 0.92 3 Lonchocarpus yucatanensis 2390 15.2 1.66 0.46 and Francisco Javier Xuluc Tolosa for their assistance in 4 Lysiloma latisiliquum 2190 13.9 4.40 2.67 the field; Juan Jimenes-Osornio, Director of the Program 5 Senna racemosa 800 5.1 2.23 0.99 for Management and Conservation of Tropical Natural 6 Machaonia sp. 490 3.1 2.73 1.63 Resources who, togther with Aliza Mizrahi, supported 7 Bourreria pulchra 420 2.7 3.05 1.43 8 Guettarda elliptica 380 2.4 1.76 0.47 and assisted me throughout the project; Salvador Flores 9 Piscidia piscipula 370 2.3 3.99 2.35 for his invaluable assistance in identifying samples from 10 DiOSJ2;'tTOS cuneata 370 23 1.86 0.64 the field; and Mark Ashton for his guidance throughout Total: 13250 84.1 the project. Age30 Rei. X St. Species Den. Den. dbh Dev. LITERATURE CITED 1 Gymnopodium floribundum 1830 31.3 3.97 1.85 2 Lonchocarpus yucatanensis 570 9.7 3.88 2.88 3 Bunchosia glandulosa 510 8.7 2.29 1.90 Ewe!, J.J. 1977. Differences between wet and dry 4 Hippocratea celestroides 470 8.0 4.79 3.50 successional tropical ecosystems. Geo-Eco-Trop 1:103- 5 Eugenia mayana 350 6.0 2.78 1.54 6 Parathesis cubana 330 5.6 2.13 0.78 117. 7 Bourreria pulchra 2.10 3.9 4.43 2.39 8 Croton reflexifolius 220 3.8 2.90 1.46 Ewe!, J.J. 1980. Tropical succession: manifold routes to 9 Gucttarda elliptica 160 2.7 3.68 1.50 maturity. Biotropica 12:(Suppl.):2-7 10 Pithecellobium albicans 130 2.2 14.16 5.02 Total: 4800 82.1 Tablel. SumnUJI)' of the ten most numerous species per age class. Murphy, P.G. and A.E. Lugo. 1986a. Ecology of tropical (Den.= Denis/)•; Rei. Den.= Relative Densil)•.) dry forest. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 17:67-88. the 2-year-old monte arose predominantly in groups of coppice. For example, in the most common species in Murphy, P.G. and A.E. Lugo. 1986b. Structure and this age class, Lonchocarpus yitcatanensis, 80% of biomass of a subtropical dry forest in Puerto Rico. individuals arose in groups of coppice. For this reason, Biotropica 18:89-96. the densities of individuals of each species in Table 1 should not be confused with the number of woody stems Rico-Gray, V., J.G. Garcia-Franco, A. Puch, and P. Sima. per acre, the latter being far greater than the former. This 1988. Composition and structure of a tropical dry forest is because only the largest stem from coppice groups in Yucatan, Mexico. International Journal of Environ­ (individual plants) was counted. mental Science 14:21-29.

DISCUSSION Rico-Gray, V. and J. Gracia-Franco. 1992. Vegetation and soil seed bank of successional stages in tropical This study is a necessary first step in generating back­ lowland deciduous forests. Journal of Vegetation Science ground data for a forest management plan. A full report 3:617. in English and Spanish will be submitted to the joint team of Mayan community leaders and members of the Roldan, L.A. 1985. Flora melifera de la zona de Program for Management and Conservation of Tropical Tixcacaltuyub, Yucatan. Tesis de Licenciatura, Facultad Natural Resources by the end of December, 1993. de Ciencias, UNAM. Mexico.

TRI News Fa111993 59 BOOK REVIEWS

Plantation Forestry in the Tropics, (2nd ed.) Julian concluding the section. From the level of the international Evans. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1992, 403 pp. aid or development agency to that of the local NGO or extension agency, steps must be taken to ensure the The socio-economic and ecological significance of thoroughness of planning. Beyond considerations of land tropical forest resources has assumed critical importance and people, there are the matters of potential markets, in the context of increasing economic hardship and transportation networks and the actual steps in the environmental degradation. Tropical tree plantations have establishment and maintenance of the plantation itself, as figured as a key element in strategies of development and neglect of any one of these may spell ruin. ecological remediation, and interest in the subject has broadened and intensified, particularly since the early Plantation silviculture is the subject of Part ill, providing 1980s. In response to this trend, Dr. Julian Evans has a step-by-step review of physical establishment and produced an extensively revised edition of Plantation maintenance procedures. Appropriate species selection, Forestry in the Tropics, which presents the essential seed sourcing and nursery requirements are discussed. elements of plantation silviculture couched in a broader Various site preparation strategies and planting methods socio-economic and ecological framework. As Evans are analyzed. The need for thoroughness, precision and makes clear in his introduction, the book is neither a economy is stressed in regard to cleaning, weeding, manual nor a bibliographic reference: it is a coherent, thinning and pruning regimes. The pros and cons of reader-friendly and useful introductory text. Evans covers fertilization are presented. Efficiency of rotation length a large and complex subject in clear, concise style, and regeneration strategies are then considered, followed effectively incorporating details but not overburdening by a call for constant vigilance in the area of forest the reader with them. He successfully outlines areas of health. While Part ill is straightforward and by necessity concern as a baseline for awareness and further study, rudimentary, it effectively highlights the level of practical endowing the reader with a sound, holistic familiarity complexity involved in plantation silviculture versus with the subject. Evans' modest intentions notwithstand­ silviculture in the natural forest. ing, numerous examples from diverse tropical locales and abundant citations provide the reader with a firm grasp of Importantly, in Part IV Evans devotes substantial time to procedure and exhaustive source material. the "non-industrial" potential of tropical plantations. Though the tropical moist forest receives the lion's share In Part I, Evans introduces the reader to the tropics and of attention in the media, many regions of the tropics are plantations. While this may sound simplistic, it is not. In afflicted with drought, degraded soils, sparse vegetation the minds of many, the tropics are associated with rain and erosion. Deforestation in these areas due to the forest and plantations with industrial timber production. combined effect of clearing for agriculture, cutting for In reality, the tropics encompass extensive arid and semi­ fuelwood and overgrazing by livestock entails a spiralling arid zones as well as cooler highland regions, and much degradation of the environment. In some areas this has plantation work is aimed at subsistence needs and contributed to desertification and the exacerbation of amelioration of degraded sites. These areas of concern food shortages. Evans presents a fairly extensive presen­ receive substantial emphasis throughout the book. Also tation of the remediation capacity of plantations for lands included in this section are an overview of the develop­ beset by drought, erosion, salinity and even contamina­ mental history of plantation work in the tropics and a tion. In addition, the role of plantations in agroforestry general outline of the plantation framework. systems and fuelwood supplies is described.

The importance of socio-economic analysis and planning Evans closes the book with an investigation of some is emphasized in Part II. The lessons of the past are not frequent criticisms of plantation systems. These include lost on Evans, and he notes that insufficient rigor in these the vulnerability of monoculture to pests and disease, aspects has contributed to failures in tropical plantations. lack of diversity and potential deterioration of productive The appropriateness, capability and accessibility of lands capacity over time. These concerns are treated in a available for planting are important considerations here. straightforward, honest fashion, and Evans acknowledges A discussion of tenure and usufruct leads to an examina­ the basis for them, though he does not consider them tion of the role of local people, in terms of their skills as absolutes. potential participants and their needs as intended benefi­ ciaries. These are all crucial concerns in the planning In Plantation Forestry in the Tropics, Julian Evans process, which Evans then analyzes in its entirety in effectively introduces the student to his subject, while

60 TRI News Fall1993 also providing the seasoned veteran with useful reminders Editor Thomas Park discusses how even this promising and perhaps a broader horizon. The complexities of system--which would minimally impact traditional tenure plantation systems in the tropical context are effectively systems while improving production--oversimplifies the conveyed to the reader, including negative aspects and intricacies and benefits of traditional systems. drawbacks, accompanied by a holistic exposure to ongoing developments. This is an essential text for A useful glossary of technical and regional terms and a students and agents of the development of tropical forest comprehensive bibliography of government and organiza­ resources. tion reports, press reports, and scholarly works are --Steven Harrington included. Useful maps and diagrams are also incorpo­ rated into the chapters. Risk and Tenure in Arid Lands: the Political Ecology of Development in the Senegal River Basin. Thomas E. This book emphasizes the social and cultural implications Park (ed.) University of Arizona Press, Monographs on of risk as well as appropriate forms of agriculture for arid arid lands development, 1993. 383 pp. lands, particularly the Senegal River Basin. Though these critiques discuss case studies only in a single basin, Ongoing drought in the Sahel has rendered much of Mali, they should be extremely useful for those interested in Mauritania and Senegal unproductive for pastoralism. arid or semi-arid regions. Conflicts over land tenure are This has led to sedentarization of people, increased not unique to a particular region, and often result from emphasis on flood recession agriculture, and subsequent failure to consider common property, political and disputes over land tenure in the Senegal River basin. ecological processes in development projects. As This book summarizes the issues regarding economic delimited pastural migration, denudation of land, and lost development, common property rights and agriculture productivity increase pressure on arid lands, it will and provides a useful critique of recent development become increasingly important to understand that social, projects in the region. political and ecological processes are inexticably linked. Risk and Tenure in Arid Lands serves not only as a The first four chapters provide an excellent overview of reminder, but also a guide toward sounder management political ecology in the Senegal River basin. An entire and development of arid lands. chapter is devoted to soils of the region, correlating --Victoria Derr indigenous soil classification schemes with soil taxonomy and summarizing local soil uses, value and degrees of Biodiversity Prospecting: Using Genetic Resources for . fertility. It is stressed that because rainfall and flooding Sustainable Development. W. V. Reid, S.A. Laird, C.A. patterns are erratic, there is great annual variation in Meyer, R. Gamez, A. Sittenfeld, D.H. Janzen, M.A. productive regions, and risk is, therefore, an inherent part Gollin, and C. Juma. 1993. World Resources Institute. of flood recession agriculture. Traditional tenure sys­ Washington, D.C. ix + 341 pp. tems, in which nuclear families inherited rights to allocation of a specific amount but not to a specific area Biodiversity prospecting--"the exploration of biodiversity of land, were best adapted to these risks. These chapters for commercially valuable genetic and biochemical discuss the current relations between traditional tenure resources"-- has received much attention in the wake of systems and modern development efforts and the move­ the signing of the Convention on Biological Diversity at in ment from long-term risk management to short-term 1992. This book offers a timely analysis of the potential optimal growth. The authors discuss recent conflicts benefits of biodiversity prospecting for the protection of between Senegalese cultivators and Mauritanian Peul biodiversity, economic development in the developing herders, and crises resulting from governmental shifts in world, and the equitable sharing of the profits to be land tenure and property rights. derived from diverse genes, species, and ecosystems. Included are analyses of both the arguments in favor of The second section of the book contains a collection of biodiversity prospecting and the empirical evidence and five case studies. The first two studies focus on land procedural recommendations necessary for its success. tenure: its impact on income generation and its relation­ These analyses provide a crucial tool for governments, ship to local social structures. The remaining three case biotechnology companies, researchers, and rural commu­ studies evaluate development projects in the basin and nities as they struggle to develop the first biodiversity their relation to land tenure. These critiques are construc­ prospecting agreements. The book's format consists of tive in form, addressing the degree to which each plan is separately authored chapters and appendices addressing realistic and appropriate. For example, a project in the two basic themes: theoretical discussions of biodiversity Dirol Plain would allow for irrigation development on prospecting in the context of property rights, equity and high lands and flood recession agriculture on lower lands. utility; and suitable procedures and strategies for initiating biodiversity prospecting. TRI News Falll993 61 i L -

Recognizing the political considerations which have While the authors do an admirable job of explaining the stalled agreement on the use of biodiversity, the authors benefits and methods of biodiversity prospecting, I find provide numerous arguments detailing the advantages of their discussion of the impact and distribution of benefits biodiversity prospecting agreements. Developing to be incomplete. As they mention several times in countries may benefit from opportunities to participate in passing, the total benefits to be gained from biodiversity research activities, technology transfer, and the financial prospecting agreements amount to no more than several income to be derived from biotechnology products. hundred million dollars. In the face of estimated costs in Particular attention is paid to strategies which promote the tens of billions of dollars for worldwide biodiversity long term development goals, such as technology protection, it is hard to see how these agreements will transfers and a percentage of royalties on biotechnology substantially change national policies toward protection products. Without this approach, the authors argue, of areas of high biodiversity or provide the important biodiversity prospecting runs the risk of becoming simply long-term national development gains indicated by the another resource extraction industry with few benefits for authors. In addition, their discussion of the desirability developing countries. The importance of established for many nations {o actively pursue biotechnology agreements is also noted for the developed world, which industries fails to adequately address the impact this will benefit from a system that promotes conservation competition will have on the economic value of and ensures access to the natural diversity which has biodiversity. On another front, the book's lack of supplied 25% of the pharmaceuticals used today and discussion of the distribution of benefits within develop­ made possible the immense gains in worldwide agricul­ ing nations is a glaring omission. The authors note, tural productivity of the post-war era. rightly, the importance of local/indigenous groups to any scheme for protecting areas of high biodiversity, but then Having argued their advantages, the authors then present fail to offer any realistic strategy for insuring that these a detailed analysis of the specific structures required for groups benefit from biotechnology agreements. Repeated successful biodiversity prospecting agreements. The references to national governments as potential proxies much cited INBio-Merck agreement is examined as a for these groups ignores a well-established pattern of case study (several of the authors are INBio officials). exploitation of marginal groups by elites in many The book also provides information on pharmaceutical developing countries. companies, botanical gardens, and others involved in biodiversity prospecting; a sample prospecting agree­ The weaknesses of the book are, nonetheless, minor ment; and an examination of relevant laws, including a points in an otherwise excellent and comprehensive study thorough discussion of the Convention on Biological of the structure of biodiversity prospecting and its place Diversity. The discussion of laws relevant to biodiversity within the global effort to preserve biodiversity, equitably prospecting covers trade secrets, utility and petty patents, allocate its benefits, and spur development in the devel­ plant breeder's rights, trademarks, and copyright and oping world. Portions of the book will appeal only to should be of particular interest both to those formulating those directly involved in biodiversity prospecting. agreements and to those who wish to understand the Because of the quality of writing and research on a ongoing debate between North and South over the variety of biodiversity issues this book is recommended meaning of the Convention on Biological Diversity. to any interested in the fractious relations between the developing and developed worlds. --Brad Auer TRINOTES

An International Workshop on the genus Dalbergia melano:xylon. The manual, highlights, and workshop was held in Hetauda, Nepal from 31 May to 4 June 1993. proceedings will be available in 9 to 12 months. Contact: Dalbergia researchers and practitioners shared informa­ James Roshetko/Nitrogen Fixing TreeAssociation/1010 tion on the diversity of the genus; management and use of Holomua Road/Paia, Hawaii 96778/USA the different species; and the potential for genetic improvement of Dalbergia sissoo. Participants assessed Following the success of two previous courses, a third current knowledge on various Dalbergia species and course on fodder tree legumes will be held in Novem­ produced: 1) recommendations for further research on ber/December 1994 in Queensland, Australia. This six­ Dalbergia species, 2) a draft field manual on the use and week course will provide a mix of lectures, field and farm production of D. sissoo, and 3) draft copies of Nitrogen visits, participant seminars and workshops. The objec­ Fixing Tree Highlights on D. latifolia and D. tives of the course are to inform particpants of the range

62 TRI News Fall 1993 of fodder tree species available to agriculture, to review considerable body of knowledge which was previously their environmental adaptions, and to examine their role scattered and not readily accesible. Each issue includes in animal production, soil fertility improvement and roughly 300 abstracts, which include full details of title, erosion control. Emphasis will be placed on the multi­ author(s) and source. In addition to being grouped into 50 purpose nature of both exotic and native tree species. subject headings, they are indexed by author, habitat, Please contact: Dr. Ross Gutteridge or Dr. Max Shelton/ subject, and species. Sources include 34 journals in Department of Agriculture/University of Queensland/ addition to symposia and workshop proceedings. Subscrip­ Queensland 4072/AUSTRALIA tion rates are US$50 (UK£30) for air mail and US$35 (UK£20) for surface mail. CJFEWA is published by Agrim BioResources '94, a conference aimed at speeding the Publishers, Anekant Place, 29 Rajpur Road, DEHRA DUN- successful management of biomass resources, will be 248 001 INDIA. held from 3-7 October 1994 in Bangalore, India. The conference will focus on future issues of environment and development, including energy, sustainability, and environment and health. For more information contact: LETTERS LaRocco Associates/2 Erie Street/Montclair, NJ 07042/ USA To the editor: I refer to the paper on p.23 of TRI NEWS, Vol.12, No.1 IUFRO and the Japan Society of Forest Planning are ["The determination of age and growth rate of four tree sponsoring the IUFRO International Symposium on species in an evermoist forest in southwestern Sri Lanka," Growth and Yield of Tropical Forests, to be held 27 by Patrick Baker], more specifically to the site descrip­ September- 1 October 1994 in Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan. tion. The manner in which the important Sinharaja forest Participants of the Symposium will evaluate current was saved from destruction is not properly stated. The knowledge and define research needs for tropical forests. battle for this last remaining rainforest of some size in Sri Those interested in participating in the symposium or Lanka started in 1972 and came to a successful conclusion presenting a paper should contact: Dr. Yukichi in 1977 when newly elected President J.R.Jayewardene Konohira/Tokya University of Agriculture and Technol­ stopped any further logging. The designation as Man and ogy/3-5-8 Saiwaicho Ruchu/Tokyo 183/JAPAN Biosphere Reserve came later. Today the area is protected under the National Heritage Wilderness Areas Act A short course on rural project planning will be held administered by the Forest Department, and it is also a in Canberra, Australia from 18 April- 27 May 1994. If World Heritage Site. you are interested, please contact the course co­ ordinator/ANUTECH Pty Ltd/GPO Box 4/Canberra/ACT T.W. Hoffman, Ceylon Bird Club 2601/AUSTRALIA. Colombo, Sri Lanka

The International Symposium on Measuring and We apologize for the oversight. Mr. Baker aclawwledges the Monitoring Biodiversity in Tropical and Temperate grass roots ejfo11s which brought about the protection of the Forests will be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 28 Sinharaja. He recognizes that its designation as a UNESCO August - 3 September 1994. Please contact: Secretariat, Man and Biosphere Reserve was the culmination of a series of Forest Biodiversity Symposium/ c/o Royal Forest measures which will fwther ensure the protection of Sinharaja Department/Silviculture Research Sub-Division/61 for generations to come. --Editors Paholyothin Road/Bangkok, THAILAND 10900 To the director: A Conference on Resources and Environmental Recently I have returned from adventures in South and SE Monitoring will run from 3-7 October 1994 in Rio de Asia, and just had a chance to peruse the TRI NEWS Janeiro, Brazil. Interested parties should contact: (Spring 1993) for the first time in several years. Con­ Roberto Pereira da Cunka/INPE/PO Box 515/12201 Sao gratulations on what you have obviously shaped into an Jose dos Campas/BRAZIL active and very exciting program! I was most interested to read about the new Center for Human Ecology, Environ­ Current Indian Forestry, Environment & Wildlife ment and Infectious Disease, and the diverse range of Abstracts. A new, comprehensive Indian forestry studies being undertaken by students. The journal reads database, CIFEWA, provides abstracts of published very well, and has come a long way! Indian research in forestry, systematic botany, soil science, wildlife conservation, environment and ecology. Betsy McGean Published quarterly, CIFEWA systematically compiles a Yale F&ES, MES 1986

TRI News Fall1993 63 I j_ For more information about the Tropical Resources Institute contact: TRINEWS

Florencia Montagnini The Tropical Resources Institute Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (203) 432-3660

TRISTAFF

Director Florencia Montagnini

TR/ Project Coordinator Nuria Muiiiz-Miret

Assistant Director Brad Auer

Assistant to the Director Catrein van Assendelft

TROPICAL STUDIES COMMITTEE

Mark Ashton, Michael Balick, Nancy Peluso, i Graeme Berlyn, Robert Mendelsohn, Florencia Montagnini, I Alison Richard, Thomas Siccama rI The Tropical Resources Institute Non-Profit Org. Yale University U.S. Postage Paid School of Forestry and Environmental Studies Permit No. 526 205 Prospect Street New Haven, CT New Haven, CT 06511 USA

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